Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:07 pm on 3 July 2018.
Neil McEvoy
Independent
2:07,
3 July 2018
It took freedom of information requests to reveal how desperate you were to go to the unpopular ceremony, and how cosy your relationship is with Alun Cairns. Last week, you voted against a motion of no confidence in the Secretary of State, even though key Conservative manifesto promises were broken, including rail electrification between Cardiff and Swansea. So, I wonder when you were quaffing drinks with Cairns and royalty if you spoke about the report from the transport committee in Westminster that exposed how Wales is sidelined on infrastructure spending, and made clear that decisions will always favour London. The report showed how absurd it was to cancel much needed infrastructure projects in Wales at the same time as billions of pounds of expenditure were announced for London. Now, nothing is being done by Cairns. Whilst money is thrown at the south-east of England, we have cuts for Wales. [Interruption.]
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.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
