Welsh Government

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.

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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 (unlike, for instance, the Scottish ministers and British government ministers). 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.

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 (with their consent) 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.

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.

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.

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.[3]

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 (and within which Welsh ministers exercise executive functions) 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

The Welsh Assembly Government was renamed Welsh Government (Llywodraeth Cymru) in practice in 2011, and in law by the Wales Act 2014.[4][5]

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[8] 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 (May 1999 to April 2008)
• Dame Gillian Morgan (May 2008 to August 2012)
• Sir Derek Jones (October 2012 to February 2017)[9]
• Dame Shan Elizabeth Morgan (February 2017 to 31 October 2021)[9]
• Andrew Goodall (November 2021 to date)

• Office of the First Minister
  • Cabinet Division
  • Cabinet Office
  • Co-operation Agreement Unit
• Permanent Secretary's Office
  • Propriety and Ethics Directorate
• Chief Operating Officer's Group
  • Finance Directorate
  • Care Inspectorate Wales
  • Communications Division
  • Health Inspectorate Wales
  • Planning & Environment Decisions Wales
  • Commercial and Procurement Directorate
  • HR Directorate
  • Digital, Data & Technology Directorate
• Covid Recovery & Local Government Group
  • Risk, Resilience and Community Safety Directorate
  • Local Government Directorate
    • North Wales Division
• Climate Change & Rural Affairs Group
  • Sustainable Transport & Digital Infrastructure Directorate
  • Climate Change, Energy & Planning Directorate
  • Housing & Regeneration Directorate
  • Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer
  • Environmental Sustainability Directorate
  • Rural Affairs Directorate
  • Finance and Operations Directorate
• Economy, Treasury & Constitution Group
  • Welsh Treasury
  • International Relations & Trade Directorate
  • Regional Investment & Borders Directorate
  • Constitution & Justice Directorate
  • Legal Services Directorate
  • Office of the Legislative Counsel
  • Welsh Government Office for Science
  • Business & Regions Directorate
  • Culture, Sport & Tourism Directorate
  • Finance and Operations Directorate
• Education, Social Justice & Welsh Language Group
  • Social Partnership, Employability and Fair Work Directorate
  • Education & Welsh Language Directorate
  • Communities & Tackling Poverty Directorate
  • Operations Directorate
  • Ukraine Response Directorate
• Health & Social Services Group
  • Office of the Chief Executive of NHS Wales
  • Office of the Chief Medical Officer for Wales
  • Health and Wellbeing Directorate
  • Health Protection Directorate
  • Quality & Nursing Directorate
  • Social Services & Integration Directorate
  • NHS Performance & Planning Directorate
  • NHS Finance Directorate
  • Community & Primary Care, Mental Health & Vulnerable Groups Directorate
  • Digital, Technology & Innovation Directorate
  • Workforce & Corporate Services Directorate
  • CAFCASS Cymru

The Welsh Government Board translates the strategic direction set by the Welsh cabinet and its committees into work that is joined up across Welsh Government departments and makes the best use of its resources. The board is made up of six directors general, six directors and four non-executive directors, and is chaired by the permanent secretary.

Board members are appointed at the discretion of and by the permanent secretary. Membership is not wholly dependent on functional responsibilities; it is designed to provide balanced advice and support to the permanent secretary, and collective leadership to the organisation as a whole.[10]

The Welsh Government is responsible for a number of Welsh Government sponsored bodies (WGSBs). These are, respectively,

• executive WGSBs, which are non-departmental public bodies such as the Arts Council of Wales;
• advisory WGSBs, which are non-departmental public bodies; and
• tribunals such as the Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales.

WGSBs are staffed by public servants rather than civil servants.

The Welsh Government is also responsible for some public bodies that are not classed as WGSBs, such as NHS Wales, and the Welsh Offices of England and Wales legal offices.