Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:00 pm on 20 September 2016.
Hefin David
Labour
2:00,
20 September 2016
Welsh Government support for libraries is welcomed, particularly in Caerphilly. We’ve seen the development of libraries in Caerphilly and Bargoed, and Ystrad Mynach is currently undergoing a lot of work. I was interested, also, in the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure’s evidence to the communication committee last week, in which he said libraries are more than just about books, they’re about a whole load of technological provisions for residents.
I wanted to ask, particularly, for an update on the Welsh Government’s plans for an all-Wales library card, which were first published a year ago. I was contacted by a constituent who has a holiday home in Burry Port—a fine place in Lee Waters’s Constituency—and wanted to use the library there. He was not permitted to join the library and wasn’t permitted to use his Caerphilly county borough council card there either. I’ve written to Carmarthenshire County Council to try and clarify what’s going on, but particularly, I’d like to know, with the library card scheme, whether that would help. I understand it would also lead to quite a substantial saving for local authorities.
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.
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.
In a general election, each Constituency chooses an MP to represent them. MPs have a responsibility to represnt the views of the Constituency in the House of Commons. There are 650 Constituencies, and thus 650 MPs. A citizen of a Constituency is known as a Constituent
