Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 3:06 pm on 25 November 2009.
Lord Lee of Trafford
Spokesperson for Defence, Spokesperson for Culture, Media and Sport
3:06,
25 November 2009
We on these Benches join the tribute to Sergeant Loughran-Dickson. Is the Minister aware that the BMA is reporting that an increasing number of health trusts are making life very difficult for their reserve doctors in fulfilling their training obligations and, indeed, are increasingly reluctant to recruit them in the first instance? Will she liaise with her opposite numbers in the Department of Health and make it clear to those health trusts that they have a national obligation at a time of war to release their reserve doctors for their appropriate military service? Those that refuse to do so should be named and shamed.
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.
