Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:34 pm on 17 October 2017.
Vikki Howells
Labour
1:34,
17 October 2017
First Minister, I’m very proud that my Constituency of Cynon Valley has benefited to the tune of over £100 million in new and improved educational facilities under the twenty-first century schools programme, which I understand is more than any other constituency in Wales. I know that you attended the official opening, just the other week, of the new £22 million Coleg y Cymoedd campus in Aberdare. Evidence that we took recently in the economy committee from ColegauCymru suggests, however, that the FE sector isn’t as successful as perhaps it could be in tapping into that funding. So, in terms of the important role further education has in providing choice to learners and in boosting skills, how is the Welsh Government engaging with the sector so that it can maximise the benefits of the programme?
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.
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
