Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Education and Skills – in the House of Commons at 10:30 am on 27 October 2005.
Tim Farron
Shadow Spokesperson (Children, Schools and Families)
10:30,
27 October 2005
What does the Minister think that it says about the Government's commitment to young people's participation in democracy that we invest in giving citizenship education to young people up to the age of 16, but deny them the right to use a vote until they are 18?
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.
