Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Wales – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 20 January 1997.
Andrew MacKinlay
, Thurrock
12:00,
20 January 1997
While I recognise the big difference between the Government and the Opposition about the future governance of the United Kingdom, would it not be prudent for a Minister to investigate and explore the full domestic devolved government in Catalonia as a model for both Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom? Does the Minister agree that the devolved government of Catalonia has not only strengthened Spanish democracy but is a model of subsidiarity that has enhanced the Catalan culture and language? No Catalan of great repute has any difficulty in identifying with Catalonia as well as Spain.
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.
The Opposition are the political parties in the House of Commons other than the largest or Government party. They are called the Opposition because they sit on the benches opposite the Government in the House of Commons Chamber. The largest of the Opposition parties is known as Her Majesty's Opposition. The role of the Official Opposition is to question and scrutinise the work of Government. The Opposition often votes against the Government. In a sense the Official Opposition is the "Government in waiting".
