Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure – in the Senedd at 1:38 pm on 7 December 2016.
Ken Skates
Labour
1:38,
7 December 2016
I’d like to thank the Member for his question and say that that was one person within the FSB and many others in the FSB in north Wales have welcomed the Welsh Government’s cut to business taxes for small and medium-sized businesses in Arfon. The Member mentions the English scheme, but that applies to far fewer businesses. Our scheme will apply to around 70 per cent of businesses and around half of all eligible businesses will pay no rates at all. In terms of the support that we give to businesses in Arfon, I think it’s pretty clear that our assistance is paying dividends, as the number of enterprises operating in Gwynedd has reached a record high, with 15,786 businesses operating in that part of Wales. That’s reflected across the whole of north Wales as well, where a record number of businesses are now operating—just shy of 62,000.
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.
