Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 1:53 pm on 5 July 2017.
Mark Drakeford
Labour
1:53,
5 July 2017
Well, Llywydd, of course, the costs and benefits of the proposals that we will bring forward will be set out in the regulatory impact assessment that will accompany the local government Bill that the First Minister announced as part of the second year’s programme when he made the legislative statement last week. And there will be a new regulatory impact assessment that reflects the set of proposals that will then be in front of the Assembly. I think the Member makes an important point about local service boards, and she’s right to pick up the fact that there was interest in the consultation about the way that we would maybe realign public service boards so that they are better able to match the new set of circumstances with a greater emphasis on regional working and so on that the white paper set out. And I definitely do intend to pursue some of the views that came through in consultation, and to look at public service boards in the context of these new arrangements.
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
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.
