Welsh Government

"Government of Wales" redirects here. For an overview of the political system of Wales, see Politics of Wales.

Welsh Government
Welsh: Llywodraeth Cymru
Overview
Established	May 12, 1999 (1999-05-12)
Polity	Wales
Leader	First Minister
Appointed by	Monarch
Main organ	Welsh Cabinet
Responsible to	National Assembly for Wales
Annual budget	£18.4 billion (2019/20)
Headquarters	Crown Buildings Cardiff
Website	https://www.gov.wales

The Welsh Government (Welsh: Llywodraeth Cymru) is the devolved executive of Wales. The government consists of ministers, who attend cabinet meetings, and deputy ministers who do not, and also of a counsel general. It is led by the first minister, usually the leader of the largest party in the National Assembly, who selects ministers and deputy ministers with the approval of the assembly. The government is responsible for tabling policy in devolved areas (such as health, education, economic development, transport and local government) for consideration by the assembly and implementing policy that has been approved by it.

The current Welsh Government is a Labour led administration, following the 2016 National Assembly for Wales election. Mark Drakeford has been the First Minister of Wales since December 2018.

History

Executive Committee of the National Assembly for Wales 1999 to 2007

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The National Assembly was created by the Government of Wales Act 1998, which followed a referendum in 1997. As initially established, the Welsh Government had no independent executive powers in law (unlike, for instance, the Scottish ministers and British government ministers). 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 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 British government can be made directly to the Welsh ministers (with their consent) by an Order in Council approved by the British parliament.

Separation was designed to clarify the respective roles of the assembly and the government. 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 acts of assembly on subjects that have been devolved to the Welsh administration.

The result mirrored much more closely the relationship between the British government and British parliament and that between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament.

After the 2007 election of the National Assembly for Wales

Legal separation

The new arrangements provided for in the Government of Wales Act 2006 created a formal legal separation between the National Assembly for Wales, comprising 60 assembly members, and the Welsh Assembly Government, comprising the First Minister, Welsh ministers, deputy ministers and the counsel general. This separation between the two bodies took effect on the appointment of the First Minister by Queen Elizabeth II following the assembly election on 3 May 2007.

Separation was meant to clarify the respective roles of the assembly and the government. The role of the government 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 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.

Transfer of functions

The assembly's functions, including that 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 employs the staff supporting the new National Assembly for Wales, and holds property, enters into contracts and provides support services on its behalf.

Welsh ministers

The 2006 Act made new provision for the appointment of Welsh ministers. The First Minister is nominated by the Assembly and then appointed by Her Majesty the Queen. The First Minister then 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 must 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.

2011 referendum on law-making powers

Functions and areas of competence

Following the "yes" vote in the referendum on further law-making powers for the assembly on 3 March 2011, the Welsh Government is now entitled to propose bills to the National Assembly for Wales on subjects within 20 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:

• Agriculture, fisheries, forestry and rural development
• Ancient monuments and historical buildings
• Culture
• Economic development
• Education and training
• Environment
• Fire and rescue services and promotion of fire safety
• Food
• Health and health services
• Highways and transport
• Housing
• Local government
• National Assembly for Wales
• Public administration
• Social welfare
• Sport and recreation
• Tourism
• Town and country planning
• Water and flood defences
• Welsh language

Renaming

The Welsh Assembly Government was renamed Welsh Government (Llywodraeth Cymru) under the Wales Act 2014.

Cabinet members and deputy ministers

The government is composed of ministers and deputy ministers. The counsel general is also a member of the Cabinet. The current government is formed by Welsh Labour, the sole Liberal Democrats Assembly Member, Kirsty Williams and Independent AM Dafydd Elis-Thomas.

Cabinet
Office	Name		Term	Party	Image
Ministers
First Minister		Rt. Hon Mark Drakeford AM	2018–	Labour
Minister for Finance and Trefnydd		Rebecca Evans AM	2018–	Labour
Minister for Health and Social Services		Vaughan Gething AM	2016–	Labour
Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs		Lesley Griffiths AM	2018–	Labour
Minister for Housing and Local Government		Julie James AM	2018–	Labour
Minister for International Relations and the Welsh Language		Eluned Morgan AM	2018–	Labour
Minister for Economy and Transport		Ken Skates AM	2016–	Labour
Minister for Education		Kirsty Williams AM	2016–	Liberal Democrats
Counsel General and Brexit Minister		Jeremy Miles AM	2018–	Labour
Deputy Ministers
Deputy Minister for Housing and Local Government		Hannah Blythyn AM	2018–	Labour
Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism		Rt. Hon Dafydd Elis-Thomas AM	2017–	Independent
Deputy Minister and Chief Whip		Jane Hutt AM	2018–	Labour
Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services		Julie Morgan AM	2018–	Labour
Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport		Lee Waters AM	2018–	Labour

Civil service

The Welsh Government also includes a civil service that supports the Welsh ministers. As of March 2018, there are 5,015 full-time equivalent civil servants working across Wales. The civil service is a matter reserved to the British parliament at Westminster: Welsh Government civil servants work within the rules and customs of Her Majesty's Civil Service, but serve the devolved administration rather than the British government.

Permanent secretary

The permanent secretary heads the civil service of the Welsh Government and chairs the Strategic Delivery and Performance Board.

The permanent secretary is a member of Her Majesty's Civil Service, and therefore takes part in the permanent secretaries management group of the Civil Service and is answerable to the most senior civil servant in Britain, the cabinet secretary, for his or her professional conduct. He or she remains, however, at the direction of the Welsh ministers.

• Sir Jon Shortridge KCB (May 1999 to April 2008)
• Dame Gillian Morgan DBE (May 2008 to August 2012)
• Sir Derek Jones KCB (October 2012 to February 2017)
• Dame Shan Elizabeth Morgan DCMG (February 2017 to date)

Directorates

• Office of the First Minister
  • Office of the First Minister
    • Cabinet Division
    • Cabinet Office
    • Communications Division
  • International Relations & Trade Directorate
  • European Transition Directorate
  • Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO)
  • Constitution & Justice Directorate
  • Legal Services Directorate
  • Office of the Legislative Counsel
  • Social Partnership and Fair Work Directorate
• Permanent Secretary's Department
  • Finance Directorate
  • Welsh Treasury
    • Strategic Budgeting Division
    • Innovative Finance Division
    • Tax Policy and Legislation Development Division
    • Office of the Chief Economist
  • Governance & Performance Directorate
  • Corporate Services Directorate
• Department of the Economy, Skills & Natural Resources
  • Welsh Government Office for Science
  • Economic Infrastructure Directorate
  • Energy & Decarbonisation Directorate
  • Business & Regions Directorate
  • Culture, Sport & Tourism Directorate
  • Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer
  • Agriculture & Food Direcrorate
  • Environment & Marine Directorate
  • Finance and Operations Directorate
  • Skills, Higher Education & Lifelong Learning Group
  • National Procurement Service & Value Wales
• Department of Education and Public Services
  • Education Directorate
    • Welsh Language Division
  • Local Government Directorate
  • Communities & Tackling Poverty Directorate
  • Office of the Chief Digital Officer
  • Housing & Regeneration Directorate
  • Care Inspectorate Wales
  • Health Inspectorate Wales
• Department of Health & Social Services
  • Population Health Directorate
  • Nursing Directorate
  • Social Services & Integration Directorate
  • NHS Performance & Planning Directorate
  • NHS Finance Directorate
  • Mental Health, NHS Governance and Corporate Services Directorate
    • Mental Health, Substance Misuse and Vulnerable Groups Division
    • Statistical Directorate
    • Office of the Chief Social Research Officer
  • Primary Care & Healthcare Science Directorate
  • Technology, Digital & Transformation Directorate
  • Workforce & Organisational Development Directorate
  • CAFCASS Cymru

The Board

The Welsh Government 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 four directors general, four directors and 4 non-executive directors, and is chaired by the permanent secretary.

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.

Position	Name
Permanent Secretary	Dame Shan Morgan, DCMG
Director General, Education and Public Services	Tracey Burke
Director General, Economy, Skills & Natural Resources	Andrew Slade
Director General, Health & Social Services and Chief Executive of NHS Wales	Dr. Andrew Goodall CBE
Director General, Office of the First Minister & Brexit	Desmond Clifford
Director, Legal Services	Helen Lentle
Director, Governance	David Richards
Director, Finance	Gawain Evans
Director, Corporate Services	Peter Kennedy
non-executive director	Gareth Lynn
non-executive director	Ann Keane
non-executive director	Jeff Fararr
non-executive director	Ellen Donovan
Head of Organisational Development and Engagement	Natalie Pearson
Board Equality and Diversity Champion	Andrew Jeffreys

Welsh Government sponsored bodies

Main article: Welsh Government sponsored bodies

The Welsh Government is responsible for a number of Welsh Government sponsored bodies (WGSBs). These are, respectively,

• executive WGSBs, which are non-departmental public bodies such as the Arts Council of Wales;
• advisory WGSBs, which are non-departmental public bodies; and
• tribunals such as the Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales.

WGSBs are staffed by public servants rather than civil servants.

The Welsh Government is also responsible for some public bodies that are not classed as WGSBs, such as NHS Wales, and the Welsh Offices of England and Wales legal offices.

Estate

The Welsh Government has a total of 18 core and operational offices across Wales. It also has an office based in Westminster. Additionally, it has 7 specialist properties across Wales, which include stores, traffic management centres and the pavilion at the Royal Welsh Showground.

The Government also has 21 offices located in 11 countries outside the United Kingdom: Belgium; Canada; China; France; Germany; Ireland; India; Japan; Qatar; United Arab Emirates, and the United States of America.

Historically, 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". Since 2004, Welsh Government civil servants have been relocated across Wales as part of the Location Strategy, which involved the creation of new offices at Merthyr Tydfil, Aberystwyth and Llandudno Junction. 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 office of the First Minister is in Tŷ Hywel in Cardiff Bay; 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 old Crown Building in Cathays Park – original home of the Welsh Office

• 

  The New Crown Building is today home to many of the Welsh Government's civil servants

• 

  Tŷ Hywel houses the offices of the cabinet

Budget

Wales receives a budget allocation from the UK Government determined by the Barnett Formula, which makes up roughly 80% of the Welsh budget. The remaining 20% comes from devolved taxes such as Non-domestic rates, Land Transaction Tax, Landfill Disposal Tax and the Welsh rates of Income Tax. These taxes are collected and managed by the Welsh Revenue Authority except for income tax which is collected by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and then distributed to the Welsh Government.

The Welsh Government sets out its spending and financing plans for the forthcoming financial year in the autumn.

The National Assembly for Wales scrutinises the budget and associated taxation and spending plans.

List of successive Welsh Governments

For a more comprehensive list, see List of Welsh Governments.

See also

• List of Wales-related topics
• Government spending in the United Kingdom
• Welsh Youth Parliament

External links

• Website of the Welsh Government
• Welsh Government Ministers
• Government of Wales Act 2006 website
• Law Wales Website – Home