Fair Funding for Wales

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:13 pm on 9 July 2024.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 2:13, 9 July 2024

I've already chosen to govern in service of the people of Wales, and I'm very proud to do so. And I'll carry on undertaking that role with partners in the UK Government. And, actually, in the conversation with Keir Starmer, of course I discussed the future of fairness around Barnett, of course I discussed the investment opportunities in rail infrastructure and the need to deliver something that will actually meet the needs of our country. I'm looking for a plan that can actually deliver, and I go back to the example of north Wales, as the £1 billion pledge that was claimed was never a plan; there were never real opportunities to do that. What I want is a proper plan that will actually see not just agreement on priorities—some of that work has already been done—and to understand how we have a plan that will see investment that will make a real difference. I think that's the space where the public want us to be as well, and rather than—.

I understand the narrative that the leader of Plaid Cymru wants to have, but if you listened to what the Prime Minister said in his first press conference, he made very clear that there is too much power in Westminster, and it needs to go to people who have skin in the game: local decision makers in regions of England; national decision makers here in Wales and, indeed, in Scotland. The Prime Minister didn't simply do a tour to visit Labour colleagues; he showed the respect that the UK deserves and that has been lacking for the last decade and more, by physically coming to meet the leaders of the nations of the UK and making clear that there really will be a change in the way that the UK is governed and in the choices that we will make, and that will lead to the delivery of the manifesto that 27 out of 32 Welsh MPs have been elected on. Of course, I respect the right of those who have different manifesto pledges to make their case.

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.

Prime Minister

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom