Part of 2. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:41 pm on 4 July 2017.
Leanne Wood
Plaid Cymru
1:41,
4 July 2017
I welcome your answer, First Minister, so thank you very much for that. Faced with this Westminster Government that is committed to austerity, Wales needs a Government now that is proactive on health. Almost 30,000 Welsh nurses have seen a 14 per cent cut in their wages since 2010 due to the NHS pay cap. On page 56 of your manifesto, you say that you will scrap the NHS pay cap. The Scottish Government has announced that it’ll get rid of the pay cap in its next budget. All I’ve seen from the Welsh Government is a letter to Jeremy Hunt. The UK Government has effectively rejected that letter and is now committed to that pay cap. It’s time now, First Minister, for you to take action. Why haven’t you yet announced any plans to lift the pay cap and will you make it a priority in your next budget?
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.
