Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Health – in the House of Commons at 11:30 am on 22 February 2005.
Huw Irranca-Davies
PPS (Rt Hon Jane Kennedy, Minister of State), Department for Work and Pensions
11:30,
22 February 2005
I seek the indulgence of the House to pay tribute to the staff in acute care and ambulance services at Morriston hospital, Swansea, who saved my father's life over the Christmas period. I also pay tribute to the work carried out in the national health service throughout the country.
I am sure that the Minister agrees that one of the benefits of devolution is that we can learn lessons from both sides of Offa's dyke, and the Assembly should be applauded for its work on primary care, healthy living initiatives and so on. When the Minister meets Dr. Brian Gibbons, the new Health and Social Services Minister, will she take the opportunity to bolster his good work on waiting times by discussing the excellent initiatives in England such as targeted waiting times and mobile units?
Does she think that some matters will be off the record in those discussions—
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.
