Minister (government)

A Minister can be a Member of Parliament, or a Clergyman (person who works as a Minister in the Church). This article talks about a Minister as a Member of Parliament.

What is a minister?

In the United Kingdom and other countries that follow the Westminster System, a Minister is a Member of Parliament who has a special role dealing with a certain area of Government. In the British Government, there are Ministers for lots of different things, like Children, Work & Pensions and Culture, Media & Sport. There are descriptions (things that describe) of what these people do at the bottom of this page.

Ministers in the government report to the Prime Minister, who also tells them what they need to do in relation to their jobs. The Deputy Prime Minister also reports to the Prime Minister.

Other Ministers, even though they are not called Ministers, include the Foreign Secretary, and the Home Secretary.

What describes these jobs?

Minister for Children

The Minister for Children looks after children's rights - these are laws which take care of how children are treated by their parents or guardians (a guardian is someone who looks after a child when their parents are not able to), and their care in society. The job means that this Minister has a special role in the lives of all children in the UK.

Minister for Work and Pensions

This Minister looks after jobs (Employment) and money given to people who are in need (Welfare Benefits). They set the rules saying what people who have no job must do to try and get one, and how much money people who have no job or are in need, get to live on. The Minister also sets rules about what happens to people who do not do enough to find a job, or who break the law by working while they are getting Welfare Benefits.

Minister for Culture, Media and Sport

This Minister has a special role which means they promote (make popular) British Culture and Traditions. They also take care of Broadcasting laws and laws about what newspapers and television stations can and cannot do. Also, they have a duty to promote sporting activities which take place in Britain and help the government attract major sports events to Britain (the recent decision to let Britain host the Olympic Games in 2012 is an example of this).

There are a lot of other Ministers in the Government, and you can find out about them by writing to the Houses of Parliament' in London. Their address is:

The Houses of Parliament

Westminster

London

SW1A 0AA

What about other countries?

Other countries also have Ministers who, like those in Britain, deal with special things related to how people live. You can find out about them by looking at the Wikipedia in your own country.