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 His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

. It replaced the former Welsh Office, which had extensive responsibility for governing

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

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 The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

(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: Unlike

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, Wales does not have its own Law Officers of the Crown; it is part of the

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

legal jurisdiction. The Attorney General for England and Wales therefore advises the United Kingdom Government on its law.Cabinet Office List of Government Departments and Ministers: Attorney General's Office
/ref> 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 Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...

, have called for the abolition of the Wales Office.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: However, Lord Elis-Thomas was accused of following a "

separatist Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, regional, governmental, or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seekin ...

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

External links

* {{Authority control Ministerial departments of the Government of the United Kingdom Government of Wales Politics of Wales Organisations based in Cardiff Government bodies based in London 1999 establishments in the United Kingdom