Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:57 pm on 16 May 2017.
David Rees
Labour
1:57,
16 May 2017
Well, thank you for that, First Minister. I know that the Welsh Government understands the importance of manufacturing and engineering industries, their strengths within the Welsh economy. Unfortunately, the UK Government seems not to recognise the same thing, by placing steel towards the bottom of their priorities. I look forward to the Welsh Government strategy making sure that steel is at the top end. But we need to attract more manufacturing, such as Aston Martin and TVR, which the Welsh Government has actually achieved to deliver, and we need to provide more premises of a larger footprint—25,000 sq ft plus—to ensure that those factories are there for them to come into. What’s the Government doing to actually ensure there are a sufficient number of buildings that offer that large footprint to attract both inward investment in manufacturing, but also to allow current industries to expand?
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.
