Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure – in the Senedd at 2:13 pm on 13 July 2016.
Dawn Bowden
Labour
2:13,
13 July 2016
Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, and we’re all acutely aware, clearly, of the benefits that the city deal and the south-east Wales metro would bring to the Valleys areas of Wales. The risks to that development following Brexit we’ve rehearsed ad infinitum in the Chamber, so I’m not going to dwell on those. However, we have welcomed in this Chamber the announcement of the formation of the ministerial Valleys taskforce, a key component of which is building stronger transport links. Despite the existence of local transport plans, which sometimes seem to be limited in vision to individual local authority areas, bus transport across the Valleys remains an issue. I was given an example the other day where to get to Aberdare from New Tredegar, the bus journey would take more than two hours and takes you via Pontypridd. Would the Cabinet Secretary agree with me that any opportunity to reregulate bus services in Wales arising from the Wales Bill would provide a golden opportunity to ensure that, as new employment opportunities are created in the south-east Wales Valleys, those who only have access to public transport are not excluded from seeking to take up such opportunities because of poor, slow and infrequent bus services?
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
