Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education – in the Senedd at 1:58 pm on 22 March 2017.
Alun Davies
Labour
1:58,
22 March 2017
The Member’s absolutely right to emphasise the investment that’s taken place in schools across Wales. Band A has seen a rebuild and refurbishment of over 150 schools and colleges across Wales. That’s a real investment in the education of children and young people for the future. The second wave will begin—band B will begin in 2019 and run over a five-year period to 2024. Investment priorities for the next funding period are currently being developed in partnership with local authorities, further education institutions and others. The aim of the band B programme is to reduce the number of poor condition schools and colleges, to provide enough places to deliver Welsh and English-medium education, and ensure effective and efficient use of the educational estate. And I would advise all of those who have an interest in that to have conversations immediately with local authorities and take these matters forward.
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.
