Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs written question – answered at on 4 April 2024.
Afzal Khan
Labour, Manchester, Gorton
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether a Minister from his Department plans to attend the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, INC4, taking place in Ottawa, Canada, in April 2024.
Rebecca Pow
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
At the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on plastic pollution the UK will be represented in the negotiations by a delegation of UK Government officials. A Defra Minister is also planning to attend high-level ministerial events immediately prior to the negotiations.
Yes4 people think so
No2 people think not
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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.
