Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 2:45 pm on 10 September 2003.
Lord Tebbit
Conservative
2:45,
10 September 2003
My Lords, perhaps I may remind the House that I was a director of British Telecom for some years. I also carried through the provisions of its denationalisation, which led to better services and lower prices and included a provision for competition. Surely the Minister should have reminded the noble Lord that in a competitive, free-market situation, which there is in telephony in this country, there are enormous choices for consumers. Perhaps he will also intervene on my behalf with the right reverend Prelate to see whether I may be informed as to where I shall be in the queue in having my prayers answered next Sunday when I am on my knees in one of his churches.
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.
