Part of 2. 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport – in the Senedd at 2:23 pm on 7 December 2016.
Vaughan Gething
Labour
2:23,
7 December 2016
Thank you for the follow-up question. I’m sure that all of us at some point in our lives will suffer some sort of challenge with our sleep. Most of them, though, do pass, as I’m sure you know, with a houseful of young children. But, in terms of the particular disorders and the wider challenges, we know that narcolepsy is a particular challenge, not just on sleep but in daily life. There is no currently known cure; it’s about managing the condition successfully. We do have a tertiary centre in Aneurin Bevan university health board, but I have asked the neurological conditions delivery implementation group to consider what greater emphasis we could have on those who are affected by neurologically affected sleep disorders. So, there is work in train and we know it’s an area where we need to expand our understanding, and then understand where and how we manage the condition and help and support people in the most effective way possible.
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.
