Oral Answers to Questions — Scotland – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 26 February 1992.
Mr Russell Johnston
, Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber
12:00,
26 February 1992
To ask the Secretary of Stale for Scotland what progress there has been on the Fort William to Mallaig road.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
, Edinburgh West
Since 1985, two major schemes worth more than £8 million have been completed on the A830. The additional funding for roads announced by the Secretary of State means that we plan to start the Morar bypass scheme in the coming financial year, 1992–93.
Mr Russell Johnston
, Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber
Does the Minister agree that the exciting proposals for the development of Mallaig harbour, which are with the Scottish Office, make it urgent that the remaining sections of the road are completed as soon as possible?
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
, Edinburgh West
I believe that this will be very good news indeed for the people of Morar. The hon. Member will be aware that Morar is famous for the northern lights, presented in the Scottish film "Local Hero". This will mean that although there may be no oil under Morar or Morar beach, Morar and its inhabitants will soon have a new road.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
