Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:48 pm on 5 December 2017.
Mr Neil Hamilton
UKIP
1:48,
5 December 2017
Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. On 13 November, Adam Price tabled a written question, which asked the First Minister if
'he continues to be responsible for "staffing including the terms and conditions of Special Advisers'.
The answer came 10 days later:
'I retain a close interest in staffing but responsibility rests with the permanent Secretary.'
But the code of conduct for special advisers says something that is diametrically the opposite of that:
'The responsibility for the management and conduct of special advisers, including discipline, rests with the First Minister who made the appointment.'
So, how does the First Minister reconcile what that said on paper with what he's just told Adam Price?
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.
A Permanent Secretary is a top civil servant- there is a permanent secretary in each Office/Dept./Ministry Permanent Secretaries are always Knights, (I.E. "Sir" or "Dame"). BBC Sitcom "Yes Minster" portrays Sir Humprey Appelby as a Permanent Secretary, steretypically spouting lots of red tape and bureacracy.
