Wales Office

Wales Office
Welsh: *Swyddfa Cymru*
Department overview
Royal Badge of Wales (Red Dragon version)

Formed	1999^[1]
Preceding Department	Welsh Office
Jurisdiction	Wales
Headquarters	1 Caspian Point, Caspian Way, Cardiff, CF10 4DQ & Gwydyr House, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2NP
Annual budget	£6 million for 2011–12 ^[2]
Minister responsible	Alun Cairns MP, Secretary of State for Wales
Website	www.walesoffice.gov.uk

Wales

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The Wales Office is a United Kingdom government department. It replaced the former Welsh Office, which had extensive responsibility for governing Wales prior to Welsh devolution in 1999.^[1]

History

In the past it has been called "Wales' 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 National Assembly for Wales; and for securing funds for Wales as part of the annual budgetary settlement.^[3]

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 Wales Office ministers are as follows:^[4]

Minister	Rank	Portfolio
Alun Cairns MP	Secretary of State	Overall strategic direction, constitutional and electoral issues, Welsh budget, infrastructure, foreign affairs, health, localism, justice
Guto Bebb MP	Parliamentary-Under Secretary of State	Law and order, immigration, education, transport, telecommunications, welfare, broadcasting, Welsh language
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth	Parliamentary-Under Secretary of State	Energy, environment, rural affairs, defence, heritage, culture, tourism, local government

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.^[5] His deputy is the Solicitor General for England and Wales.

Future

Wales Office, Gwydyr House in Whitehall, London

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.^[6] Lord Elis-Thomas, Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales said:

I think it would be very useful to [wind up the Wales Office] before we start the next Assembly; that would be the logical time because that is the time when our new powers will become fully operational. The relationship then would be inter-governmental and inter-parliamentary. In other words it would be between the National Assembly and the Parliament at Westminster, where there are issues on laws which are made in Westminster which impinge on Wales and vice versa.^[7]

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".^[6]

References

1 2 History – Walesoffice.gov.uk. Retrieved 08 March 2012
↑ Spending Review 2010 (PDF). London: HM Treasury. 2010. p. 88. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
↑ About the Wales Office – Walesoffice.gov.uk. Last modified 14 December 2010. Retrieved 08 March 2012
↑ "Our ministers". GOV.UK. Wales Office. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
↑ Cabinet Office List of Government Departments and Ministers: Attorney General's Office
1 2 Presiding officer suggests dropping Welsh secretary – BBC News. Published 07 March 2011. Retrieved 08 March 2012
↑ Wales Office 'hard to justify' says Plaid Cymru leader – BBC News. Published 07 March 2011. Retrieved 08 March 2012

External links

Official website

Wales Office

Headquarters: Gwydyr House, Whitehall, London and Caspian Point, Cardiff Bay

Secretary of State	Alun Cairns

Under-Secretary of State	The Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth Guto Bebb

Attorney General	Jeremy Wright

Predecessor: Welsh Office

Secretaries of State for Wales

Wales Office

1964–1970	Griffiths Hughes Thomas

1970–1974	Thomas

1974–1979	Morris

1979–1997	Edwards Walker Hunt Redwood Hunt Hague

1997–2010	Davies Michael Murphy Hain^* Murphy Hain

2010–present	Gillan Jones Crabb Cairns

^*Also Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (2005–2007)

Departments of Her Majesty's Government

Ministerial	Attorney General's Office Cabinet Office Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Department for Communities and Local Government Department for Culture, Media and Sport Department for Education Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Department for Exiting the European Union Department for International Development Department for International Trade Department for Transport Department for Work and Pensions Department of Health Foreign and Commonwealth Office Her Majesty's Treasury Home Office Ministry of Defence Ministry of Justice Northern Ireland Office Office of the Advocate General for Scotland Office of the Leader of the House of Commons Office of the Leader of the House of Lords Scotland Office UK Export Finance Wales Office

Non-ministerial	Charity Commission for England and Wales Competition and Markets Authority Crown Prosecution Service Food Standards Agency Forestry Commission Government Actuary's Department Government Legal Department Her Majesty's Land Registry Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs National Crime Agency National Savings and Investments Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills Office of Gas and Electricity Markets Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation Office of Rail and Road Ordnance Survey Serious Fraud Office Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The National Archives UK Statistics Authority UK Trade & Investment Water Services Regulation Authority

Category Commons

Devolution in the United Kingdom

Devolved areas

National level	Northern Ireland Scotland Wales

Regional level (in England)	Combined authorities Directly elected mayoralties Greater London Authority

Referendums¹

English mayoral referendums
- London, 1998
- 2012
North East England
- 2004
Northern Ireland
- 1998
Scotland
- 1979
- 1997
Wales
- 1979
- 1997
- 2011

Heads of devolved governments

Devolved legislatures²

Devolved administrations³

Organisations and laws of the
legislatures and governments
of the UK and the devolved areas

Commissions (UK Parliament)	Kilbrandon Commission Holtham Commission Silk Commission McKay Commission

Commissions (devolved legislatures)	National Assembly for Wales Richard Commission Holtham Commission Scottish Parliament Calman Commission Smith Commission

Devolution acts	Greater London Authority Acts 1999 2007 Northern Ireland Acts 1998 2006 Wales Acts 1998 2006 2014 2016–2017 Scotland Acts 1998 2012 2016

Select committees	Northern Ireland Affairs Scottish Affairs Welsh Affairs

Grand committees	England Northern Ireland Scottish Welsh

Departments and Territorial Offices (MOJ)	Cabinet Office - Devolution Secretariat Ministry of Justice - Devolution Directorate-General Office of the Advocate General for Scotland Northern Ireland Office Scotland Office Wales Office

Elections

Current	Agreements/Treaties Anglo-Irish Treaty Good Friday Agreement Budget Barnett formula Block grant Constitution of the United Kingdom Reserved and excepted matters West Lothian question

Proposals	Cornwall Cornish Assembly Cornish Constitutional Convention Mebyon Kernow Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament Devolved English parliament Campaign for an English Parliament Northern England Campaign for the North Yorkshire First Other parts of Southern England Wessex Regionalist Party Scotland Full fiscal autonomy

Historical	Administrations of England English Regional Assemblies, 1998-2010 Administrations of London London County Council Greater London Council Administrations of Northern Ireland 1922–72 1974 Legislatures of Northern Ireland 1922–72 1973–74 1982–86 Northern Ireland-related legislation of the UK Parliament Ireland, 1886 Ireland, 1893 Ireland, 1914 Ireland, 1920 Irish Free State, 1922 Northern Ireland, 1974 Irish Home Rule movement Prime Minister of Northern Ireland Scotland Act 1978 Scottish Office Sunningdale Agreement Wales Act 1978 Welsh Office

1. Rejected referendums are italicised. The others were fully or partially approved.
2. There is no law-making body for any regionally devolved area.
3. Administrations of regionally devolved areas are omitted.

Category

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