Welsh Government


The Welsh Government is the devolved government of Wales. It consists of cabinet secretaries and ministers. The government is led by the first minister, usually the leader of the largest party in the Senedd, who selects ministers with the approval of the Senedd. The government is responsible for tabling policy in devolved areas for consideration by the Senedd and implementing policy that has been approved by it.
The current Welsh Government is a Labour minority administration, following the 2021 Senedd election. It is led by Eluned Morgan who has been the first minister of Wales since August 2024.

History

The Welsh Office

Prior to devolution in 1999 many executive functions for Wales were carried out by the Secretary of State for Wales and the Welsh Office. The Welsh Office was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It was established in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Wales, a post which had been created in October 1964. The post however had no Welsh electoral mandate, and over the ensuing years there were complaints of a "democratic deficit". For eleven years prior to 1997 Wales had been represented in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom by a Secretary of State who did not represent a Welsh constituency at Westminster. These factors led to growing calls for political devolution. The Welsh Office was disbanded on 1 July 1999 when most of its powers were transferred to the National Assembly for Wales.

Executive Committee of the National Assembly for Wales 1999 to 2007

The National Assembly was created by the Government of Wales Act 1998, which followed a referendum in 1997. As initially established, the Welsh Government had no independent executive powers in law. The National Assembly was established as a body corporate by the Government of Wales Act 1998 and the executive, as a committee of the assembly, only had those powers that the assembly as a whole voted to delegate to ministers.
On 27 November 2001, First Minister Rhodri Morgan announced that the brand "Welsh Assembly Government" would be used going forward for the committee, to more clearly delineate the division of functions within the Assembly.
The Government of Wales Act 2006 formally separated the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Government, giving Welsh ministers independent executive authority, this taking effect following the May 2007 elections. Following separation, the Welsh ministers exercise functions in their own right. Further transfers of executive functions from the British government can be made directly to the Welsh ministers by an Order in Council approved by the British parliament.
Separation was designed to clarify the respective roles of the assembly and the government. Under the structures established by the Government of Wales Act 2006, the role of Welsh ministers is to make decisions; develop and implement policy; exercise executive functions and make statutory instruments. The remainder of the 60 assembly members in the National Assembly scrutinise the government's decisions and policies; hold ministers to account; approve budgets for the Welsh Government's programmes; and enact acts of assembly on subjects that have been devolved to the Welsh administration.
The result mirrored much more closely the relationship between the British government and British parliament and that between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament.

After the 2007 election of the National Assembly for Wales

Legal separation

The new arrangements provided for in the Government of Wales Act 2006 created a formal legal separation between the National Assembly for Wales, comprising 60 assembly members, and the Welsh Assembly Government, comprising the first minister, Welsh ministers, deputy ministers and the counsel general. This separation between the two bodies took effect on the appointment of the first minister by Queen Elizabeth II following the assembly election on 3 May 2007.
Separation was meant to clarify the respective roles of the assembly and the government. The role of the government is to make decisions; develop and implement policy; exercise executive functions and make statutory instruments. The 60 assembly members in the National Assembly scrutinise the Welsh Government's decisions and policies; hold ministers to account; approve budgets for the Welsh Government's programmes; and have the power to enact assembly measures on certain matters. Assembly measures can now go further than the subordinate legislation which the assembly had the power to make prior to 2007.

Transfer of functions

The assembly's functions, including that of making subordinate legislation, in the main, transferred to the Welsh ministers upon separation. A third body was also established under the 2006 Act from May 2007, called the National Assembly for Wales Commission. It employs the staff supporting the new National Assembly for Wales, and holds property, enters into contracts and provides support services on its behalf.

Welsh ministers

The 2006 Act made new provision for the appointment of Welsh ministers. The first minister is nominated by the Senedd and then appointed by His Majesty the King. The first minister then appoints the Welsh ministers and the deputy Welsh ministers with the approval of the monarch. The Act created a new post of Counsel General for Wales, the principal source of legal advice to the Welsh Government. The counsel general is appointed by the monarch, on the nomination of the first minister, whose recommendation must be agreed by the Senedd and who cannot be dismissed without the Senedd's consent, but automatically leaves office when a new first minister is nominated. The counsel general may be, but does not have to be, a member of the Senedd. The Act permits a maximum of 12 Welsh ministers, which includes deputy Welsh ministers, but excludes the first minister and the counsel general. Accordingly, the maximum size of the Welsh Government is 14.
In Acts of the Senedd and of the UK Parliament, the expression "the Welsh Ministers" is used to refer to the Welsh government in similar contexts to those where "the Secretary of State" would be used to refer to the British government; it is defined to include only the first minister and ministers, not the deputy ministers or the counsel general.

2011 referendum on law-making powers

Functions and areas of competence

Following the "yes" vote in the referendum on further law-making powers for the assembly on 3 March 2011, the Welsh Government is now entitled to propose bills to the National Assembly for Wales on subjects within 20 fields of policy. Subject to limitations prescribed by the Government of Wales Act 2006, Acts of the National Assembly may make any provision that could be made by Act of Parliament. The 20 areas of responsibility devolved to the National Assembly for Wales are:
  • Agriculture, fisheries, forestry and rural development
  • Ancient monuments and historical buildings
  • Culture
  • Economic development
  • Education and training
  • Environment
  • Fire and rescue services and promotion of fire safety
  • Food
  • Health and social services
  • Highways and transport
  • Housing
  • Local government
  • National Assembly for Wales
  • Public administration
  • Social welfare
  • Sport and recreation
  • Tourism
  • Town and country planning
  • Water and flood defences
  • Welsh language

    Renaming

The Welsh Assembly Government was renamed Welsh Government in practice in 2011, and in law by the Wales Act 2014.

Cabinet secretaries and ministers

The government is composed of cabinet secretaries and ministers. The current government is a minority by Welsh Labour.
The current cabinet was formed on 11 September 2024, replacing the interim cabinet formed by Morgan when she was appointed First Minister in August 2024, which was largely a continuation of Gething's. In the September reshuffle, new positions were created, while all existing ministers remained in cabinet but most with amended roles. The September 2024 cabinet is as follows:

Ministers

Cabinet secretaries and ministers were known as ministers and deputy ministers respectively before 2016, and under Mark Drakeford from 2018 to 2024. They returned to their current names in May 2024 following the appointment of Vaughan Gething.

Civil service

The Welsh Government also includes a civil service that supports the Welsh ministers. As of March 2018, there are 5,015 full-time equivalent civil servants working across Wales. The civil service is a matter reserved to the British Parliament at Westminster: Welsh Government civil servants work within the rules and customs of His Majesty's Civil Service, but serve the devolved administration rather than the British Government.

Permanent secretary

The Permanent secretary heads the civil service of the Welsh Government and chairs the Strategic Delivery and Performance Board.
The Permanent Secretary is a member of His Majesty's Civil Service, and therefore takes part in the Permanent Secretaries Management Group of the Civil Service and is answerable to the most senior civil servant in Britain, the Cabinet Secretary, for professional conduct. The permanent secretary remains, however, at the direction of the Welsh ministers.
  • Sir Jon Shortridge
  • Dame Gillian Morgan
  • Sir Derek Jones
  • Dame Shan Elizabeth Morgan
  • Andrew Goodall

    Departments

  • First Minister's Group
  • *Office of the First Minister
  • *Office of the Permanent Secretary
  • *Propriety and Ethics Directorate
  • *Constitution & Justice Directorate
  • *Office of the Legislative Counsel
  • *Strategy Unit
  • *Care Inspectorate Wales
  • *Healthcare Inspectorate Wales
  • Chief Operating Officer's Group
  • *Finance Directorate
  • *Welsh Treasury
  • *Legal Services Directorate
  • *People and Places Directorate
  • *Commercial and Procurement Directorate
  • *Digital, Data & Technology & Knowledge and Analytical Services Directorate
  • *National Security & Resilience
  • *Planning and Environment Decisions Wales
  • Local Government, Housing, Climate Change & Rural Affairs Group
  • *Local Government & Planning Directorate
  • *Climate Change & Environmental Sustainability Directorate
  • *Housing & Regeneration Directorate
  • *Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer
  • *Rural Affairs Directorate
  • *Finance and Operations Directorate
  • Economy, Energy & Transport Group
  • *Economic Strategy Directorate
  • *International Relations & Trade Directorate
  • *Regional Investment & Borders Directorate
  • *Welsh Government Office for Science
  • *Business & Regions Directorate
  • *Social Partnership, Employability and Fair Work Directorate
  • *Tourism, Marketing, Events & Creative Directorate
  • *Energy Directorate
  • *Transport & Digital Connectivity Directorate
  • *Finance and Operations Directorate
  • Education, Culture & Welsh Language Group
  • *Education Directorate
  • *Culture, Heritage, Sport & Welsh Language Directorate
  • *Communities & Social Justice Directorate
  • *Tertiary Education Directorate
  • Health, Social Care & Early Years Group
  • *Office of the Director General
  • *NHS Planning & Performance Directorate
  • *Office of the Chief Medical Officer for Wales
  • *Quality & Nursing Directorate
  • *Social Services & Integration Directorate & Office of the Chief Social Care Officer for Wales
  • *Public Health Protection Directorate
  • *NHS Finance Directorate
  • *Primary Care, Mental Health & Early Years Directorate
  • *Digital, Technology & Innovation Directorate
  • *NHS Workforce Directorate
  • *CAFCASS Cymru