Building Trust in Politics and Politicians

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:19 pm on 14 May 2024.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Adam Price Adam Price Plaid Cymru 2:19, 14 May 2024

Collapsing trust in politics is a problem for Parliaments in many parts of the world, but I think it's important to acknowledge that we are by no means immune from those questions of integrity, of credibility and accountability in this Chamber. If the First Minister accepts that, isn't it, I think, the urgent task of not just maintaining, but restoring trust in politics? It's not something, surely, that we can defer, or, indeed, delegate to a future Senedd. We have to show leadership and take responsibility in getting it right in this Senedd. So, the question to the First Minister is this: is he prepared to commit to bringing forward or facilitating legislation to address the primary legislative changes that are needed in relation to recall and deliberate deception, not in a future Senedd, but in this one?

Minister

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.