Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 2:52 pm on 12 March 2001.
Lord Avebury
Liberal Democrat
2:52,
12 March 2001
My Lords, is the Minister aware that although the LTTE has an office in this country, which will have to cease activities once the order comes into effect, there are other organisations which collect money, ostensibly for charitable purposes? The first investigation of those bodies is left to the Charity Commissioners. Does the Minister think that, in the light of repeated demands by the Sri Lankan Government for action to be taken against front organisations, it is satisfactory to leave the matter entirely in the hands of the Charity Commissioners?
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.
