2. 2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:36 pm on 16 May 2017.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Darren Millar Darren Millar Conservative 2:36, 16 May 2017

Can I call for two statements, please, one in relation to the regulation of drones and light aircraft? I’ve received a number of complaints recently from residents in my own Constituency about the use of drones in residential areas, hovering over people’s back gardens, filming local residents, and invading their privacy. And, indeed, in addition to that, there have been some complaints about the use of light aircraft on beaches that are right adjacent to the rail infrastructure, and indeed the trunk road network. And, of course, if any of those microlights, et cetera, had an accident, then that could cause a serious problem on those particular pieces of infrastructure. So, I would appreciate a statement from an appropriate Cabinet Secretary about the way that we can best regulate these, while still allowing people to use them for leisure purposes.

Can I also call for a statement on access to GPs? I know that my colleague Mohammad Asghar has also raised this as an issue, but the National Pensioners Convention Wales produced a report recently on access to GP services in Wales, and it found that there were significant problems with accessing some appointments in some surgeries. And that was largely due to the inconsistency around appointment arrangements. It reported that, while some surgeries were offering same-day appointments only, others were allowing people to book in advance, and offering a more flexible approach, which seemed to be much better for patients, in terms of their patient experiences. So, I do think it’s about time that we had a statement on GP access, and how to improve that overall, and I would appreciate it if one could be scheduled.

Cabinet

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.

constituency

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