Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:32 pm on 30 January 2024.
Mark Drakeford
Labour
3:32,
30 January 2024
Well, Llywydd, the report is very clear that, unless action is taken, then devolution in Wales will atrophy, that you can't just stand still. And we haven't been standing still, because we've seen things flow away from this Senedd and back to London. And, as Huw Irranca-Davies has said, Dirprwy Lywydd, it also is very clear in many of its pages that its audience is not just the Welsh Government; it is very much the Senedd itself. And Huw makes a really important point about the way in which parliamentary action—which is reflected in many reports, in the House of Lords and the House of Commons, as well as here and elsewhere—and the capacity of legislatures to get together to enhance the way in which power is properly distributed through the United Kingdom and then comes back together again to discharge common purposes, for which we agree that we want to share that sovereignty—. I think the report is very powerful in those instances too.
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.
The House of Commons is one of the houses of parliament. Here, elected MPs (elected by the "commons", i.e. the people) debate. In modern times, nearly all power resides in this house. In the commons are 650 MPs, as well as a speaker and three deputy speakers.
The house of Lords is the upper chamber of the Houses of Parliament. It is filled with Lords (I.E. Lords, Dukes, Baron/esses, Earls, Marquis/esses, Viscounts, Count/esses, etc.) The Lords consider proposals from the EU or from the commons. They can then reject a bill, accept it, or make amendments. If a bill is rejected, the commons can send it back to the lords for re-discussion. The Lords cannot stop a bill for longer than one parliamentary session. If a bill is accepted, it is forwarded to the Queen, who will then sign it and make it law. If a bill is amended, the amended bill is sent back to the House of Commons for discussion.
The Lords are not elected; they are appointed. Lords can take a "whip", that is to say, they can choose a party to represent. Currently, most Peers are Conservative.
