Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:17 pm on 30 April 2024.
Vaughan Gething
Labour
2:17,
30 April 2024
I continue to make the point that I'm someone who has a real connection to our rural economy. I grew up in a rural community and, as the Member knows, I spent many hours on farms with my father in my childhood. So, this isn't something that I need to be introduced to: understanding what rural life is like or the hard work of our farming communities. So, that informs the way that I and my Government address this issue.
As the Member knows, the three groups of early stakeholders I met were steelworkers, doctors and farmers. So, we are looking at the nearly 12,000 responses to the sustainable farming scheme consultation. It was always the case that it would be a genuine consultation, so we will take account of what we've been told. That does mean that there's likely to be some change in the scheme, and the conversations that are taking place around how we deliver a scheme that is fit for purpose, that prioritises and promotes sustainable food and drink production here in Wales and properly takes account of the climate and nature emergencies that we face. Of course, farmers know that, because they see that impact on the land that they are the guardians of. So, I do look forward to a constructive conversation that will get taken forward by the Cabinet Secretary for rural affairs, and I think, when it comes to that, we may well not agree on every aspect of it, but we can envisage a scheme that will allow farming to move forward in a way that is genuinely sustainable and champions Welsh produce.
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 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.
