Wales Office

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Wales Office is a UK government department. It replaced the Welsh Office , which coordinated the administration of Wales before the Government of Wales Act 1998 .

The authority of the institution, which in the past was called "Wales' voice in Westminster and Westminster's voice in Wales", was given by the Government of Wales Act 2006 mainly to the exercise of the functions of the Secretary of State for Wales , which are not part of the Welsh Delegated to Parliament . The Wales Office is responsible for assessing the Welsh share of the UK budget.

The Secretary of State for Wales has been subordinate to the Department of Justice since 2007. Before 2007 it was part of the Department for Constitutional Affairs .

State Secretaries

State Secretaries in the Wales Office have so far been:

party minister rank Portfolio
conservative David Jones Secretary of State for Wales General Decisions, Constitutional Affairs, General Economic Policy, Defense
conservative Stephen Crabb Parliamentary-Under Secretary of State unspecified
Liberal Democrats Jenny Randerson Parliamentary-Under Secretary of State unspecified

In contrast to Scotland and Northern Ireland, Wales does not have its own Law Officers of the Crown ; Wales and England have joint jurisdiction. The Attorney General for England and Wales advises the United Kingdom Government on the legal system of England and Wales. His deputy is the Solicitor General for England and Wales .

future

As a result of the approval of the Welsh devolution referendum , the National Assembly for Wales was given direct legislative powers. Some Welsh politicians, especially those from the Plaid Cymru party , called for the Wales Office to be abolished. Dafydd Elis-Thomas , Chairman of the National Assembly for Wales commented: “I think it would be very useful to dismantle the [Wales Office] before swearing in the next National Assembly, that would be the logical time as ours new powers then come into effect in full. The relationship would then be established between governments and between parliaments. In other words, between the National Assembly and Parliament at Westminster, the issues of laws made in Westminster that affect Wales would be dealt with, and vice versa. ” Lord Elis-Thomas was appointed by Cheryl Gillian, then Secretary of State for Wales accused of pursuing a "separatist agenda" . She was supported by her Labor Party predecessor, Peter Hain , who said that Wales "still needs representation around the Cabinet in Westminster."

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ History of the Wales Office on its website ( memento of the original from March 3, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.walesoffice.gov.uk
  2. ↑ About the Wales Office - Walesoffice.gov.uk. Last modified on December 14, 2010. Accessed March 8, 2012
  3. ^ Cabinet Office List of Government Departments and Ministers: Wales Office
  4. ↑ http://www.number10.gov.uk/the-coalition/the-government/
  5. ^ Cabinet Office List of Government Departments and Ministers: Attorney General's Office
  6. ↑ a b Presiding officer suggests dropping Welsh secretary - BBC News. Published March 7, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2012
  7. ↑ Wales Office 'hard to justify' says Plaid Cymru leader - BBC News. Published March 7, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2012

Web links