1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at on 3 May 2017.
Gareth Bennett
UKIP
6. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the online broadcast of council meetings in Wales? OAQ(5)0123(FLG)
Mark Drakeford
Labour
2:08,
3 May 2017
I thank Gareth Bennett for the question. The Welsh Government has provided financial support to enable local authorities to broadcast their meetings. Currently, 18 local authorities broadcast their full council meetings, and some local authorities go beyond that and broadcast other meetings as well. The reforming local government white paper proposes making broadcasting of council meetings a statutory requirement.
Gareth Bennett
UKIP
Yes, thanks for that. I think, although the Government here did provide money, it hasn’t been an across-the-board, consistent system, so it would be welcome if we could at least have the full council meetings broadcast by each council. Hopefully, you will stick to this, and I’m sure you will. It’s good that some of the councils are also broadcasting the Cabinet meetings, which is welcome. So, can you just guarantee that you will push through with this once the local elections are over?
Mark Drakeford
Labour
2:09,
3 May 2017
Well, I entirely agree with what the Member has said. I think local populations have a right to see what goes on in their name in their council chambers. That’s why the white paper proposes that broadcasting council meetings should be a statutory requirement, rather than simply a request of local authorities, and the vast Majority of local authorities in Wales are already well on that road. I hope that our White Paper will give a further impetus to doing that right across Wales.
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.
A document issued by the Government laying out its policy, or proposed policy, on a topic of current concern.Although a white paper may occasion consultation as to the details of new legislation, it does signify a clear intention on the part of a government to pass new law. This is a contrast with green papers, which are issued less frequently, are more open-ended and may merely propose a strategy to be implemented in the details of other legislation.
More from wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_paper
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.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
