Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 2:00 pm on 18 January 2016.
Arlene Foster
DUP
2:00,
18 January 2016
I thank the Member for her question. I share her concern about last year, but we all know that last year was a little bit different. We had difficulties around the Budget settlement and, indeed, very many other difficulties. This year, we are very focused on the fact that a new funding round will be available. Indeed, the budget has been set for 2016-17. It is now a case of working with the various groups, of which there are many — I was interested to see the number of groups involved right across the Province — to make sure that there is no gap between this year and next. I know that, last year, they had to wait until May or June and then look for back payment. We are hoping that that will not be the case this year.
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.
