Part of Petitions – in the House of Commons at 7:31 pm on 25 March 2015.
Eleanor Laing
Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means), First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means
7:31,
25 March 2015
The hon. Gentleman asks a good question, and he has done well in drawing to the attention of the House, Members on the Treasury Bench and undoubtedly the relevant Minister the point that he quite rightly wishes to make on behalf of his constituents. I can assure him that if he produces the petition today, it may go in the bag, and it will be treated as a presented petition. The House has heard what he has had to say.
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.
