4. 2. Statement: Cabinet Appointments

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:37 pm on 24 May 2016.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Carwyn Jones Carwyn Jones Labour 2:37, 24 May 2016

First of all, in terms of the first question, yes, collective responsibility applies. Where there are disagreements, they will be dealt with in the ways that they were when there was a coalition with her party, or indeed with the Liberal Democrats in years gone by. There will be machinery in place to make sure these issues are identified early, in order for there to be agreement. That’s a well-established process; we had it for the four years of the Labour-Plaid Cymru coalition.

There is no downgrading of the Welsh language. It was always a matter for a portfolio Minister. That will be the case in the future, but given my background and my long-held support for the language, there’s no question of it being downgraded.

On the PCS dispute, Ken Skates, as Minister, has been involved in this. We expect to see a settlement, hopefully very, very soon, and I thank him for the work that he has done in ensuring that there is a satisfactory outcome as far as the workers are concerned. That work took place last week. On the trade union Bill, and the repeal of the sections of the Act that we disagree with, and we believe are within the competence of this Assembly, it will be Mark Drakeford, as Minister, who is responsible for taking that legislation through.

On the EU referendum, that remains my responsibility. On the issue of Tata, that remains my responsibility. In time, steel will become part of the economy and infrastructure portfolio, but I will keep Tata.

On student finance, that’s a matter for Kirsty Williams, as Cabinet Secretary for Education.