Cabinet meeting: 18 March 2024
Minutes of a meeting of the Cabinet on 18 March 2024.
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Present
- Rt. Hon. Mark Drakeford MS (Chair)
- Rebecca Evans MS
- Vaughan Gething MS
- Lesley Griffiths MS
- Jane Hutt MS
- Julie James MS
- Jeremy Miles MS
- Eluned Morgan MS
- Mick Antoniw MS
- Hannah Blythyn MS
- Dawn Bowden MS
- Julie Morgan MS
- Lynne Neagle MS
- Lee Waters MS
Officials
- Andrew Goodall, Permanent Secretary
- Des Clifford, Director, Office of the First Minister
- Rachel Garside-Jones, Interim Director Office of the First Minister
- Matthew Hall, Head of Cabinet Division
- Toby Mason, Head of Strategic Communications
- Rory Powell, Head of First Minister’s Office
- Jane Runeckles, Special Adviser
- Madeleine Brindley, Special Adviser
- Alex Bevan, Special Adviser
- Daniel Butler, Special Adviser
- Ian Butler, Special Adviser
- Kate Edmunds, Special Adviser
- Sara Faye, Special Adviser
- Sam Hadley, Special Adviser
- David Hooson, Special Adviser
- Clare Jenkins, Special Adviser
- Owen John, Special Adviser
- Phillipa Marsden, Special Adviser
- Tom Woodward, Special Adviser
- Christopher W Morgan, Head of Cabinet Secretariat (minutes)
- Damian Roche, Cabinet Secretariat
- Catrin Sully, Cabinet Office
- Kathryn Hallett, First Minister’s Office
- Helena Bird, Permanent Secretary’s Office
- Nia James, Interim Director of Legal Services
- Tracey Burke, Director General Climate Change & Rural Affairs
- Sioned Evans, Director General, Public Services and Welsh Language Group
- Tim Moss, Chief Operating Officer
- Judith Paget, Director General Health and Social Services
- Andrew Slade, Director General, Economy, Treasury and Constitution
Item 1: Minutes of the previous meeting
1.1 Cymeradwyodd y Cabinet gofnodion y 11 Mawrth / Cabinet approved the minutes of 11 March.
Item 2: First Minister’s items
The resignation of the First Minister
2.1 The First Minister congratulated Vaughan Gething on becoming the new leader of the Labour party in Wales.
2.2 The First Minister reminded Cabinet he would be submitting his resignation to His Majesty the King late on Tuesday afternoon. There would be a vote in the Senedd the following day on the nomination of the new First Minister and this appointment would then need to be approved by His Majesty.
Item 3: Senedd business
3.1 Cabinet considered the contents of the Plenary Grid and noted.
3.2 Voting time was scheduled for 7:30pm on Tuesday and around 5:55pm on Wednesday.
Item 4: Any other business
4.1 The First Minister closed the meeting by expressing his thanks to ministerial colleagues for their support over the past 5 years, particularly given the challenges of austerity, Brexit, the pandemic, a war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis. Ministers had met these challenges in a resourceful, purposeful, sensible and orderly way and continued to deliver the Programme for Government during these difficult times against a backdrop of reducing budgets. There had been 21 Acts of the Senedd, with some landmark legislation, such as the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act and the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act, along with measures to tackle the Climate and Nature emergencies.
Cabinet gave the First Minister a standing ovation.
Cabinet Secretariat
March 2024