Part of 2. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:32 pm on 4 July 2017.
Bethan Sayed
Plaid Cymru
1:32,
4 July 2017
Following on from that theme, last week, in a question that I asked the Cabinet Secretary, I asked, ‘Why did you let the land go forward for consideration to be used for a prison?’, the Cabinet Secretary said, and I quote
‘the Member’s incorrect in her assertion that I had an option in terms of the land issue regarding the prison.’
Could you please clarify this? Did you offer up that piece of land to the MOJ to consider? If you did not, how has it come about that a piece of Welsh Government land is being considered in the first place? If it is earmarked for potential other usage, why has it not been earmarked for that use before now, for businesses locally, as David Rees has said, and can you confirm that you would be looking at other options in relation to this particular location? I’d also like to ask you: I’ve had an email from a member of staff at Cardiff prison, who said that the staff are already being told that Cardiff prison is going to be closed for shopping development, and that Swansea prison is going to be closed also. Can you confirm this, or have you had any conversations with the MOJ with regard to this?
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.
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.
