Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure – in the Senedd at 1:34 pm on 7 December 2016.
Ken Skates
Labour
1:34,
7 December 2016
And the Member is broadly right in his assertions. I think the figures have risen slightly, but, nonetheless, the actual return, provided that the circuit operates for the full duration, would return something in the region of £2.5 million in terms of the benefit-cost ratio for the taxpayer. So, the Member is absolutely right in that regard.
Just reflecting on what other Members have said, when I was Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, I believe I might have hosted, but I certainly spoke at, an event on behalf of the Circuit of Wales, talking about the value of facilities of this type and major events in the automotive sector and indeed in extreme sport in promoting Wales. In terms of extreme sport, it’s playing an incredibly important role in promoting 2016 as the Year of Adventure and it will do so next year as well as the Year of Legends and in 2018 during the Year of the Sea.
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.
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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.
