Part of Women and Equality – in the House of Commons at 10:30 am on 22 March 2007.
Andrew Stunell
Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Communities and Local Government)
10:30,
22 March 2007
I was surprised that the Minister did not mention the report by the Equal Opportunities Commission entitled "Moving on up? Ethnic minority women at work", which paints a dismal picture of the situation facing black and Asian women. What specific advice has she given the Department of Trade and Industry so that it can support firms that want to break down the barriers and employ more black and Asian women, but find it difficult to do so?
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.
