Part of Energy and Climate Change – in the House of Commons at 10:30 am on 11 November 2010.
John Bercow
Chair, Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, Speaker of the House of Commons, Speaker of the House of Commons, Chair, Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
10:30,
11 November 2010
Order. I am grateful to the Minister because he has heeded the advice that I have given to him. The exchange that has just taken place between Ian Swales and the Minister is a good illustration of how these matters should be conducted. I feel confident that the Minister will want to build on the great advance he has made in recent minutes, and I hope that the House will also feel that this is beneficial to the way in which we do our business. We can always do better, each and every one of us, and there will be further opportunities.
The House will now stand and observe two minutes' silence.
The House observed a two-minute silence.
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.
