Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Education and Employment – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 17 February 2000.
John Heppell
Labour, Nottingham East
12:00,
17 February 2000
The Minister says that many mature students now choose to study part time. In fact, many are forced to do that because of work or family commitments. Can the Minister assure us that part-time students who have had a bad deal in the past, especially under the last Government—people on low incomes, or those who have lost their jobs to study—will have their tuition fees waived? Will they also be given help with extra study costs, such as the cost of books?
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.
