Cabinet meeting: 24 May 2021

• Rt. Hon. Mark Drakeford MS
• Rebecca Evans MS
• Vaughan Gething MS
• Lesley Griffiths MS
• Jane Hutt MS
• Julie James MS
• Eluned Morgan MS
• Jeremy Miles MS
• Mick Antoniw MS

• Dawn Bowden MS
• Hannah Blythyn MS
• Julie Morgan MS
• Lynne Neagle MS
• Lee Waters MS

Officials

• Shan Morgan, Permanent Secretary
• Will Whiteley, Deputy Director Cabinet Division
• Toby Mason, Head of Strategic Communications
• Jane Runeckles, Special Adviser
• Alex Bevan, Special Adviser
• Daniel Butler, Special Adviser
• Ian Butler, Special Adviser
• Kate Edmunds, Special Adviser
• Sara Faye, Special Adviser
• Clare Jenkins, Special Adviser
• Andrew Johnson, Special Adviser
• Mitch Theaker, Special Adviser
• Tom Woodward, Special Adviser
• Christopher W Morgan, Cabinet Secretariat (minutes)
• Damian Roche, Cabinet Secretariat
• Tracey Burke, Director General, Education and Public Services
• Andrew Goodall, Director General, Health
• Reg Kilpatrick, Director General, COVID-19 Crisis Coordination
• Charlie Thomas, Head of LPGU
• Piers Bisson, Director EU Transition, Constitution and Justice
• Dylan Hughes, First Legislative Counsel
• Nia James, Deputy Director Legal Services
• James Gerard, Deputy Director Justice Policy
• Frank Atherton, CMO
• Fliss Bennee, Co-Chair of TAC

1.1 Cymeradwyodd y Cabinet gofnodion y 17 Mai / Cabinet approved the minutes of 17 May.

Ministerial Code 

2.1 The First Minister informed Cabinet that the Ministerial Code had been shared with ministers in draft to enable them to raise any queries before the final version was circulated later that week.

2.2 It would be important for each minister to examine the contents of the final code, even those who were familiar with previous versions, as they would be asked to confirm in writing that they had done so.

3.1 The Minister for Rural Affairs, North Wales and Trefnydd informed Cabinet that, in addition to the first session of First Minister’s Questions and Business Statement, on Wednesday there would be a motion to appoint the Counsel General and several sets of Statutory Instruments had been tabled for debate. There would also be an oral statement on Renew and Reform: Supporting Learners’ Well-being and Progression. Voting time on Wednesday, if required, was expected to be around 3.55pm.

3.2 There had been two applications for Emergency Questions, one in relation to the events of Thursday night in Mayhill, Swansea and the other concerning the UK government’s plans for a no-quotas trade deal with Australia.

3.3 It was reported that the Minister for Social Justice would be issuing a Written Statement the following day about the response to the incident in Mayhill.

4.1 The First Minister introduced the paper, which invited ministers to agree the Bills to be included in the first year of the Welsh Government’s Legislative Programme and approve the remit of the Standing Committee for Cabinet on the Programme.

4.2 The public health crisis, as a result of the pandemic, as well as the legislative demands to facilitate the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, had a significant impact towards the end of the last Senedd on the previous government’s capacity to legislate and led to the postponement of several high profile and important Bills as well as a number of items of subordinate legislation.

4.3 Given that many of the pressures relating to the pandemic and the exit from the EU remained, along with the need to deliver the legislative priorities of the new government and introduce subordinate legislation to implement Acts of the Senedd, there would be a standing Committee for Cabinet on the Legislative Programme. The remit and membership had been set out within the paper.

4.4 Cabinet welcomed the paper and recognised the impact on resources when needing to respond to UK government legislation.

4.5 Cabinet approved the recommendations in the paper.