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Wales Office

Ministerial department of the UK Government

Summary

Ministerial department of the UK Government

FieldValue
agency_nameWales Office
native_name
agency_typeMinisterial department
typeDepartment
logoWales Office logo.svg
pictureGwydyr House, Whitehall (geograph 5590927).jpg
picture_captionGwydyr House in Whitehall, London
formed1 July 1999
preceding1Welsh Office
jurisdictionWales
headquarters
** {{langcyTŷ William Morganitalicno}}, 6 Central Square, Cardiff CF10 1EP
employees52 (2016–2017)
budget~£4.7 million for 2016–2017
minister_typeSecretary of State
minister1_nameThe Rt. Hon. Jo Stevens MP
minister1_pfoSecretary of State for Wales
minister2_nameAnna McMorrin MP
minister2_pfoParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales
chief1_nameGlynne Jones CBE
chief1_positionDirector
chief2_nameHuw Bryer
chief2_positionDeputy Director, Constitution, Domestic Affairs and Regional Growth
chief3_nameDafydd Jones
chief3_positionDeputy Director, Communications
chief4_nameLouise Parry
chief4_positionDeputy Director, Policy
chief5_nameKate Starkey
chief5_positionDeputy Director, Policy
website
parent_departmentMinistry of Justice
  • Wales
    • Tŷ William Morgan, 6 Central Square, Cardiff CF10 1EP
  • Westminster
    • Gwydyr House, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2NP

The Wales Office (), known as the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales () between 2017 and 2024, is a department of His Majesty's Government. It replaced the former Welsh Office, which had extensive responsibility for governing Wales prior to Welsh devolution in 1999.

History

In the past, the Office was called "Wales's voice in Westminster and Westminster's voice in Wales". However, it is significantly less powerful since the Government of Wales Act 2006: it is primarily responsible for carrying out the few functions remaining with the Secretary of State for Wales that have not been transferred already to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament); and for securing funds for Wales as part of the annual budgetary settlement.

The Secretary of State for Wales has overall responsibility for the office, but it is located administratively within the Ministry of Justice (until 2007, the Department for Constitutional Affairs).

Ministers

The ministers in the Wales Office are as follows, with cabinet members in bold:

MinisterPortraitOfficePortfolio
Jo Stevens MP[[File:Official portrait of Jo Stevens MP crop 2, 2024.jpg100x100px]]Secretary of State for WalesOverall responsibility; Welsh Government and Senedd Liaison; Foreign Affairs; Defence.
Anna McMorrin MP[[File:Official portrait of Anna McMorrin MP.jpg100x100px]]Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for WalesSupporting the Secretary of State in their duties

Unlike Scotland and Northern Ireland, Wales does not have its own Law Officers of the Crown; it is part of the England and Wales legal jurisdiction. The Attorney General for England and Wales therefore advises the United Kingdom Government on its law. His deputy is the Solicitor General for England and Wales.

Future

Following the 'yes' vote in the 2011 referendum on giving the Assembly direct law-making powers, some politicians in Wales, particularly from Plaid Cymru, have called for the abolition of the Wales Office. Lord Elis-Thomas, Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales, said:

Now that the responsibility of Ministers for administration of policy and indeed for legislation is here, it makes more sense for us to be organised in a proper inter-governmental and inter-parliamentary way. That is, Assembly to Westminster, Government to Government.

However, Lord Elis-Thomas was accused of following a "separatist agenda" by the Conservative Cheryl Gillan, then Secretary of State for Wales. She was supported by her Labour predecessor Peter Hain, who declared that Wales "still needs a voice around the Cabinet in Westminster".

References

References

  1. [http://www.walesoffice.gov.uk/about/history/ History] {{webarchive. link. (3 March 2012 – Walesoffice.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2012)
  2. (2000). "Service Delivery Agreement 2000". Office of the Secretary of State for Wales.
  3. [http://www.walesoffice.gov.uk/about/ About the Wales Office] {{webarchive. link. (1 March 2012 – Walesoffice.gov.uk. Last modified 14 December 2010. Retrieved 8 March 2012)
  4. "Our ministers". Wales Office.
  5. "Ministerial appointments: November 2023". UK Government.
  6. [http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/content/attorney-generals-office Cabinet Office List of Government Departments and Ministers: Attorney General's Office]
  7. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-12663213 Presiding officer suggests dropping Welsh secretary] – BBC News. Published 7 March 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2012
  8. [https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/lord-elis-thomas-says-wales-office-1844431 Lord Elis-Thomas says the Wales Office should be scrapped] – WalesOnline. Published 7 March 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2023
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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