1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education – in the Senedd at on 22 March 2017.
Paul Davies
Conservative
10. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on what the Welsh Government is doing to improve education in Pembrokeshire? OAQ(5)0099(EDU)
Alun Davies
Labour
2:12,
22 March 2017
We have set out our national mission to improve education attainment through a programme of education reforms across Wales, including Pembrokeshire. These include the development of a new curriculum and assessment reform, improved initial teacher education, teachers’ professional learning, building leadership capacity and reducing the attainment gap.
Paul Davies
Conservative
2:13,
22 March 2017
I’m grateful to the Minister for that response. I’m also very grateful that Ysgol Bro Cleddau in my Constituency was named recently as the Assembly’s first ambassador school in Wales, and the success of the programme has led the school to understand more about the work of the Assembly and has given the pupils a platform to discuss current affairs.
Now, in light of this success, what can the Welsh Government do to encourage schemes such as this and to encourage as many primary schools as possible to participate, which, in turn will improve pupil education so that future generations can learn more about the Assembly and the impact that decisions taken here have on their daily lives?
Alun Davies
Labour
I believe that each one of us welcomes the news that Paul has shared with us. Having said that, the Assembly itself, of course, runs exceptionally good schemes, and I have seen the success of the Assembly Commission’s schemes in schools in Blaenau Gwent in my own Constituency. They’ve had opportunities to visit the Senedd and also to come and learn more about the Senedd and the Assembly and how that impacts their lives. And I believe that those programmes have been extremely successful and I know that the Government would wish to support the Commission in the work that it’s doing at the moment.
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.
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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.
In a general election, each Constituency chooses an MP to represent them. MPs have a responsibility to represnt the views of the Constituency in the House of Commons. There are 650 Constituencies, and thus 650 MPs. A citizen of a Constituency is known as a Constituent
