Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:39 pm on 24 January 2017.
Carwyn Jones
Labour
1:39,
24 January 2017
I think we are in very new territory in terms of what will be needed in the future to attract investment into Wales. For example, there are issues such as tax incentives, which I think need to be further developed. Should there be the ability, for example, to look at tax incentives for research and development, and see them devolved? Air passenger duty—a great driver, not just for Cardiff airport, but for Valley and other airports in Wales as well. It was refused for no good reason other than the fact that they see that it was a mistake to devolve it to Scotland, so, therefore, it doesn’t come to us. But, I think it is important that, as we look at the next few years, there is an innovative way of looking at the way tax incentives are used across the UK, rather than taking the view that one size fits all.
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.