Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 1:54 pm on 8 March 2017.
Lesley Griffiths
Labour
1:54,
8 March 2017
The Member does raise a very important point and I think it is about getting that balance right as well. Certainly, we’ve had about 5,800 responses to the Welsh Government consultation around that, and you won’t be surprised to hear that subjects such as those you have just raised were brought up in that. But, certainly, we can look to make sure that—. As I say, I am going to look at the legislation, and certainly alongside that we could look to have some sort of education campaign, as you suggest.
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.
