Part of Orders of the Day — Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Bill – in the House of Commons at 8:30 pm on 20 January 1997.
Dr Norman Godman
, Greenock and Port Glasgow
8:30,
20 January 1997
The Minister spoke of contrition and how that may assist the courts. I have no doubt about that. However, what about a case involving severe sexual assault? I hope that no leniency would be shown in such a case, no matter when the accused agreed to plead guilty.
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.
