Oral Answers to Questions — Scotland – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 26 February 1992.
Mr Robert Maclennan
, Caithness and Sutherland
12:00,
26 February 1992
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to meet the chairman of the National Farmers Union of Scotland to discuss the future of farming and crofting.
Mr Michael Forsyth
, Stirling
My right hon. Friend expects to meet the president of the National Farmers Union on 5 March at its annual conference. My noble Friend the Minister responsible for agriculture in Scotland and I will also be present.
Mr Robert Maclennan
, Caithness and Sutherland
Is the Minister aware that farm incomes in Scotland in the past five years have fallen by 47 per cent. and in the past year by 38·5 per cent? As he approaches the negotiations for reform of the common agricultural policy, what steps will Scottish Ministers take to reverse that trend?
Mr Michael Forsyth
, Stirling
The hon. Gentleman is right to point out the serious decline that has taken place in farm incomes and right to underline the importance of the negotiations on CAP reform. It is vital that the discriminatory proposals emanating from Commissioner MacSharry should be resisted. They would be a disaster for Scottish farming and the Government will fight them every inch of the way.
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.
