3. Statement by the First Minister: Cabinet Appointments

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:04 pm on 19 May 2021.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:04, 19 May 2021

Llywydd, I thank Alun Davies for that and pay tribute to the work that he himself was involved in, in bringing ideas and people together to make sure that Valleys communities share in everything we are able to achieve here in Wales. We have in this Government two Members directly representing Valleys communities, and I've already talked to them about the part that they can play in making sure that that work is taken forward.

Llywydd, work on the mechanics of Government is ongoing. It was, as you will know, a pretty full week last week, and now we need to move on and deal with some of the other underpinning issues that you need to put in place. But what Alun Davies points to is one of the holy grails of Government, which is how do we make sure that we have genuine cross-portfolio working, that, when a problem can only be properly solved by bringing together different Ministers, but not just different Ministers, but, very often, partners elsewhere, partners in local government, partners in the third sector—how can we make sure that the mechanics of Government support that effort to work across boundaries and to make sure that the different contributions that are needed from within Government, but beyond Government too, can be harnessed in a way that creates the maximum impact for the areas and the people we seek to serve.