Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 3:06 pm on 15 January 2025.
Baroness Scott of Bybrook
Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
3:06,
15 January 2025
My Lords, during the Lords stages of the National Security Bill, the last Conservative Government and Conservative Ministers pledged to enhance data-sharing powers to allow public bodies to share data with political parties. That is what we need; it is not about the honest ones who come through but knowing who is coming through a tenuous route, so that political parties are assisted in their due diligence. Can the Minister tell me the status of those plans to provide more information to political parties?
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.
