:Wales Office
{{For2|the department in use from 1965 to 1999|Welsh Office}}{{short description|Ministerial department of the UK Government}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox government agency
| agency_name = Wales Office
| native_name = {{langx|cy|Swyddfa Cymru}}
| agency_type = Ministerial department
| type = Department
| logo = Wales Office logo.svg
| seal =
| seal_width =
| seal_caption =
| picture = Gwydyr House, Whitehall (geograph 5590927).jpg
| picture_width =
| picture_caption = Gwydyr House in Whitehall, London
| formed = 1 July 1999[http://www.walesoffice.gov.uk/about/history/ History] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303193631/http://www.walesoffice.gov.uk/about/history/ |date=3 March 2012}} – Walesoffice.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2012{{cite web |title=Service Delivery Agreement 2000 |publisher=Office of the Secretary of State for Wales |url=http://www.walesoffice.gov.uk/pn_20001103.html |url-status=bot: unknown |year=2000 |access-date=4 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010225064005/http://www.walesoffice.gov.uk/pn_20001103.html |archive-date=25 February 2001 |df=dmy-all}}|
| preceding1 = Welsh Office
| dissolved =
| superseding =
| jurisdiction = Wales
| headquarters = {{tree list}}
- Wales
- {{lang|cy|Tŷ William Morgan|italic=no}}, 6 Central Square, Cardiff CF10 1EP
- Westminster
- Gwydyr House, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2NP
{{Tree list/end}}
| employees = 52 (2016–2017)
| budget = ~£4.7 million for 2016–2017
| minister_type = Secretary of State
| minister1_name = The Rt. Hon. Jo Stevens MP
| minister1_pfo = Secretary of State for Wales
| minister2_name = Dame Nia Griffith DBE MP
| minister2_pfo = Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales
| chief1_name = Glynne Jones CBE
| chief1_position = Director
| chief2_name = Huw Bryer
| chief2_position = Deputy Director, Constitution, Domestic Affairs and Regional Growth
| chief3_name = Dafydd Jones
| chief3_position = Deputy Director, Communications
| chief4_name = Louise Parry
| chief4_position = Deputy Director, Policy
| chief5_name = Kate Starkey
| chief5_position = Deputy Director, Policy
| chief6_name =
| chief6_position =
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| chief7_position =
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| website = {{URL|https://gov.uk/wales-office}}
| footnotes =
| parent_department = Ministry of Justice
}}
{{Politics of Wales}}
The Wales Office ({{langx|cy|Swyddfa Cymru}}), known as the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales ({{langx|cy|Swyddfa Ysgrifennydd Gwladol Cymru}}) 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.[http://www.walesoffice.gov.uk/about/ About the Wales Office] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301153202/http://www.walesoffice.gov.uk/about/ |date=1 March 2012}} – Walesoffice.gov.uk. Last modified 14 December 2010. Retrieved 8 March 2012
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:{{cite web |title=Our ministers |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-of-the-secretary-of-state-for-wales |website=GOV.UK |publisher=Wales Office |access-date=1 August 2019}}{{cite web |title=Ministerial appointments: November 2023 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ministerial-appointments-november-2023 |publisher=UK Government |access-date=14 November 2023}}
| class=wikitable
! Minister ! Portrait ! Office ! Portfolio |
| Jo Stevens {{small|MP}}
| Secretary of State for Wales | Overall responsibility; Welsh Government and Senedd Liaison; Foreign Affairs; Defence. |
| Nia Griffith {{small|MP}}
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales | Supporting 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.[http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/content/attorney-generals-office Cabinet Office List of Government Departments and Ministers: Attorney General's Office] 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.[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 Lord Elis-Thomas, Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales, said:
{{quote|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.[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}}
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
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{Official website}}
{{Wales Office}}
{{Secretaries of State for Wales}}
{{Departments of the United Kingdom Government|type=Ministerial|title=Wales Office}}{{Welsh devolution}}{{Portal bar|Politics|United Kingdom|Wales}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Ministerial departments of the Government of the United Kingdom
Category:Organisations based in Cardiff