International Development written question – answered at on 3 March 2010.
David Jones
Shadow Minister (Wales)
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions his Department has had with the government of Sri Lanka on humanitarian issues.
Michael Foster
Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for International Development
The Department for international Development (DFID) remains in regular contact with the Government of Sri Lanka on humanitarian issues. The British high commissioner to Sri Lanka and our humanitarian adviser in Colombo frequently discuss issues of concern with Government representatives and the Presidential Task Force for the Development of the North. The Foreign Secretary also raised humanitarian issues with Foreign Minister Bogollogama when they last spoke on
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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.
