Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Education and Employment – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 17 February 2000.
Margaret Hodge
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education and Employment) (Employment and Equal Opportunities)
12:00,
17 February 2000
I very much welcome my right hon. Friend's comments, especially about the interventions in the labour market that have resulted from the new deal. I accept that work remains to be done, especially in the north-east, to ensure that people have more job opportunities. However, may I draw my right hon. Friend's attention to the fact that, according to the statistics announced by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Employment, Welfare to Work and Equal Opportunities earlier this week, the north-east is one of the fastest-growing labour markets in the country,
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.
