Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 3:53 pm on 15 January 2025.
Lord Reid of Cardowan
Labour
3:53,
15 January 2025
Will the Minister confirm the magnitude of the challenge that he has inherited? Is it not the case that, during the period of the previous Government, there was an increase in drug finds of 44%? In the year until March last year, there was an increase in weapon finds of 24%. The Minister now faces a challenge because of the fact that, over the past 14 years, very little has been done to confront the challenge.
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.
