Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 1:53 pm on 15 March 2017.
Nick Ramsay
Conservative
1:53,
15 March 2017
Thank you. The OBR—and others, indeed—have identified that, in recent years, growth in income receipts has been significantly lower in Wales than across the UK, due in part to issues like the raising of the personal allowance threshold and the shifting of the burden higher up the income scale, with lower incomes forming a greater proportion of the Welsh tax base. It’s vital that forecasting is tailored to Welsh needs and I’m pleased with the answer that you’ve just given as to how you’re trying to achieve an independent view of Welsh tax needs and Welsh forecasting.
As I said before, it’s vital that we do have accurate forecasts. It’s vital that we don’t have a one-size-fits-all solution to that. In the absence of a Welsh fiscal commission, how do you plan to ensure the highest input of Welsh data and Welsh experience over the years to come into the process of forecasting, which is so vital in terms of the amount of money we receive in the block grant?
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.
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