| Welsh Government Llywodraeth Cymru |
|
|---|---|
| Logo of the Welsh Government | |
| Government overview | |
| Formed | 1999 |
| Jurisdiction | Wales |
| Headquarters | Crown Buildings, Cathays Park, Cardiff, Wales |
| Employees | 5,100 |
| Annual budget | £15.285 billion (2010/11) |
| Minister responsible | Carwyn Jones AM, First Minster |
| Government executive | Dame Gillian Morgan, Permanent Secretary |
| Website | |
| www.wales.gov.uk | |
The Welsh Government (Welsh: Llywodraeth Cymru) is the executive branch of the devolved government in Wales. It is accountable to the National Assembly for Wales, the legislature which represents the interests of the Welsh people and makes laws for Wales. The National Assembly was created by the Government of Wales Act 1998.
The Welsh Government and the National Assembly for Wales were established as separate institutions under the Government of Wales Act 2006. The Government is referred to in that Act as the Welsh Assembly Government, but to prevent confusion about the respective roles and responsibilities of the National Assembly and the Government, the devolved administration became known as the Welsh Government in May 2011,[1] following the precedent set by the Scottish Government re-name in 2007.
The Welsh Government consists of the First Minister, usually the leader of the largest party in the National Assembly for Wales; up to twelve ministers and deputy ministers, appointed by the First Minister; and a Counsel General, nominated by the First Minister and approved by the National Assembly.
The current First Minister is Carwyn Jones, formally appointed by the Queen on 12 May 2011, who appointed ten ministers and deputy ministers. The Counsel General is Theodore Huckle.
| Wales |
This article is part of the series: |
|
|
|
Government
Law and justice
Wales in the UK
Wales in the EU
Subdivisions
|
|
Other countries · Atlas |
As initially established, the Welsh Government had no independent executive powers in law (unlike, for instance, the Scottish Ministers and Ministers in the UK Government). The National Assembly was established as a body corporate by the Government of Wales Act 1998 and the executive, as a committee of the Assembly, only had those powers that the Assembly as a whole voted to delegate to Ministers.
The Government of Wales Act 2006 formally separated the legislature (National Assembly for Wales) and the Welsh Government, giving Welsh Ministers independent executive authority, this taking effect after the May 2007 elections. Following separation, the Welsh Ministers exercise functions in their own right. Further transfers of executive functions from the UK Government can be made directly to the Welsh Ministers (with their consent) by an Order in Council approved by UK Parliament.
Separation was designed to clarify the respective roles of the legislature and the executive. Under the structures established by the Government of Wales Act 2006, the role of Welsh Ministers is to make decisions; develop and implement policy; exercise executive functions and make statutory instruments. The 60 Assembly Members in the National Assembly scrutinise the Government’s decisions and policies; hold Ministers to account; approve budgets for the Welsh Government’s programmes; and enact Assembly Acts on subjects within devolved legislative competence.
The result mirrored much more closely the relationship between the UK Government and UK Parliament and that between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament.
The new arrangements provided for in the Government of Wales Act 2006 created a formal legal separation between the National Assembly for Wales, the legislature comprising the 60 Assembly members, and the Welsh Government, the executive, comprising the First Minister, Welsh Ministers, Deputy Welsh Ministers and the Counsel General. This separation between legislature and executive took effect on the appointment of the First Minister by Her Majesty the Queen following the Assembly election on 3 May 2007.
Separation should help to clarify the respective roles of the legislature and the executive. The role of the executive is now to make decisions; develop and implement policy; exercise executive functions and make statutory instruments. The 60 Assembly members in the National Assembly scrutinise the Welsh Government’s decisions and policies; hold Ministers to account; approve budgets for the Welsh Government’s programmes; and have the power to enact Assembly Measures on certain matters. Assembly Measures can now go further than the subordinate legislation which the Assembly had the power to make prior to 2007.
The Assembly’s functions, including those of making subordinate legislation, in the main, transferred to the Welsh Ministers upon separation. A third body was also established under the 2006 Act from May 2007, called the National Assembly for Wales Commission. It is responsible for employing the staff supporting the new National Assembly for Wales and for holding property, entering into contracts and providing support services on its behalf.
The 2006 Act made new provision for the appointment of Welsh Ministers. The First Minister will be nominated by the Assembly and then appointed by Her Majesty the Queen. The First Minister subsequently appoints the Welsh Ministers and the Deputy Welsh Ministers, with the approval of Her Majesty. The Act created a new post of Counsel General for Wales, the principal source of legal advice to the Welsh Government. The Counsel General is appointed by the Queen, on the nomination of the First Minister, whose recommendation will need to be agreed by the National Assembly. The Counsel General may be, but does not have to be, an Assembly Member. The Act permits a maximum of 12 Welsh Ministers, which includes Deputy Welsh Ministers, but excludes the First Minister and the Counsel General. Accordingly, the maximum size of the Welsh Government is 14.
Following the yes vote in the referendum on further law-making powers for the Assembly on 3 March 2011, the Welsh Government’s functions now include being able to propose Bills to the National Assembly for Wales on subjects within twenty fields of policy. Subject to limitations prescribed by the Government of Wales Act 2006, Acts of the National Assembly may make any provision that could be made by Act of Parliament. The 20 areas of responsibility devolved to the National Assembly for Wales (and within which Welsh Ministers exercise executive functions) are:
The Office of the First Minister is in Tŷ Hywel and the Senedd in Cardiff Bay, however, an office is also kept at the Welsh Government building in Cathays Park where the majority of Cardiff-based Welsh Government civil servants are located.
The Welsh Government has a total of 86 offices throughout Wales,[2] and a number overseas.[3] Traditionally, most Welsh Office staff were based in Cardiff, especially in Cathays Park. However, in 2002, the Fullerton Review concluded that "the Assembly could no longer sustain having the majority of its operational functions located in and around Cardiff."[4] Since 2004, Welsh Government civil servants have been relocated across Wales as part of the Location Strategy, which involves the creation of new offices at Merthyr Tydfil, Aberystwyth and Llandudno Junction.[5] In 2006, the mergers of ELWa, the Wales Tourist Board and the Welsh Development Agency into the Welsh Government brought these agencies' offices into the Welsh Government estate.
The current structure of the ministerial team is formed by Welsh Labour.
| Office | Name | Term | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Minister | Rt. Hon Carwyn Jones AM | 2011– | Labour | |
| Minister for Finance and Leader of the House | Jane Hutt AM | 2011– | Labour | |
| Minister for Business, Enterprise, Technology & Science | Edwina Hart AM | 2011– | Labour | |
| Minister for Education and Skills | Leighton Andrews AM | 2011– | Labour | |
| Minister for Environment & Sustainable Development | John Griffiths AM | 2011– | Labour | |
| Minister for Health and Social Services | Lesley Griffiths AM | 2011– | Labour | |
| Minister for Housing, Regeneration & Heritage | Huw Lewis AM | 2011– | Labour | |
| Minister for Local Government & Communities | Carl Sargeant AM | 2011– | Labour | |
| Office holders given special provisions to attend Cabinet | ||||
| Chief Whip | Janice Gregory AM | 2011– | Labour | |
| Counsel General for Wales | Theodore Huckle QC | 2011– | Labour | |
| Office | Name | Term | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deputy Minister for Children & Social Services | Gwenda Thomas AM | 2011– | Labour | |
| Deputy Minister for Skills | Jeff Cuthbert AM | 2011– | Labour | |
| Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries & European Programmes | Alun Davies AM | 2011– | Labour | |
The Permanent Secretary heads up the Civil Service of the Welsh Government and chairs the Strategic Delivery and Perormance Board.
The Permanent Secretary is a member of the Home Civil Service, and therefore takes part in the Permanent Secretaries Management Group of the UK Civil Service[6] and is answerable to the most senior civil servant in the UK, the Cabinet Secretary, for her professional conduct. She remains, however, at the direction of the Welsh Ministers.
The Strategic Delivery & Performance Board translates the strategic direction set by the Welsh Cabinet and its Committees into work that is joined up across Welsh Government departments and makes the best use of its resources. The Board is made up of 7 Directors General and 2 Non-executive Directors, and is chaired by the Permanent Secretary, Dame Gill Morgan.
Strategic Delivery and Performance Board members are appointed at the discretion of and by the Permanent Secretary. Membership is not wholly dependent on functional responsibilities; it is designed to provide balanced advice and support to the Permanent Secretary, and collective leadership to the organisation as a whole. [7]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Permanent Secretary | Dame Gillian Morgan DBE |
| Director General, Strategic Planning, Finance & Performance | Michael Hearty |
| Director General, Education & Skills | Dr. Emyr Roberts |
| Director General, Business, Enterprise, Technology & Science | James Price |
| Director-General, Health, Social Services & Children and Chief Executive of NHS Wales | David Sissling |
| Director General, Local Government & Communities | Dr. June Milligan |
| Director General, Sustainable Futures | Clive Bates |
| Director General, People, Places and Corporate Services | Bernard Galton |
| Non-Executive Director | Elan Closs Stephens |
| Non-Executive Director | James Turner |
The Welsh Government is responsible for a number of Welsh Government sponsored bodies. These are respectively, Non-departmental public bodies. These include executive WGSBs (e.g. Arts Council of Wales); advisory WGSBs (e.g. Historic Buildings Council for Wales); and tribunals (e.g. Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales). These are staffed by public servants, rather than civil servants. The Welsh Government is also responsible for some public bodies which are not classed as Welsh Government sponsored bodies, such as NHS Wales, the Welsh Offices of England and Wales legal offices and other institutes.