Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Home Office – in the House of Commons at 2:30 pm on 31 January 2005.
Andrew Selous
Opposition Whip (Commons)
2:30,
31 January 2005
Given that the United Kingdom has some of the worst binge drinking in Europe and that the police have expressed serious concern about the advent of 24-hour drinking, what reassurance can the Minister give that the police will have enough officers available between 2 am and 6 am when the Licensing Act is implemented?
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.
