Part of Justice (Northern Ireland) Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 7:15 pm on 5 February 2002.
Des Browne
Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Northern Ireland Office, Parliamentary Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)
7:15,
5 February 2002
That is a demanding question to ask even a Minister about a Bill of this size. However, I can answer it in respect of the principles involved. When
responsibility is devolved, what the hon. Member for Reigate suggests is by and large correct. In the event of an interregnum before devolution, that will not apply to all the references in the Bill to the Secretary of State. I shall check that. At this stage of consideration of a Bill of this size, I am not prepared to answer categorically. However, the principle that I enunciated and that the hon. Gentleman kindly said was clear applies to all cases in which something will change before devolution and devolution follows. That is the best that I can do at the moment. That does not apply to the Secretary of State's functions in the excepted field or the reserved field. Functions in the reserved field that relate to criminal justice will, by and large, be devolved.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
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.
