Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Business, Innovation and Skills – in the House of Commons at 9:30 am on 26 March 2015.
Toby Perkins
Shadow Minister (Business, Innovation and Skills)
9:30,
26 March 2015
The Minister seems to be entering the realms of fantasy when he claims that the limited steps the Government have taken will put an
“end to the UK’s late payment culture once and for all.”—[Hansard, 24 March 2015; Vol. 594, c. 1357.]
According to the latest BACS figures, there were more than £46 billion of late payments last year—the highest figure on record—and that figure has continued to grow over the course of this Government. How much and by when would late payments need to fall for him to consider his steps successful in eradicating this culture once and for all?
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.
