Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Welsh: Is-ysgrifennydd Gwladol Seneddol Cymru), often referred to simply as the Welsh Office Minister, is a junior ministerial post (of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State rank) in the Government of the United Kingdom, supporting the Secretary of State for Wales.[1]

United Kingdom
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales
since 9 July 2024
Wales Office
AppointerThe King
(on the advice of the Prime Minister)
Term lengthAt His Majesty's pleasure
Inaugural holderGoronwy Roberts
Formation17 October 1964
WebsiteOffice of the Secretary of State for Wales

History

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A post of Minister of Welsh Affairs was created in 1951 under the Home Secretary and was upgraded to Minister of State level in 1954. On 17 October 1964 The post was further upgraded to Secretary of State for Wales, which was a cabinet level role, being assisted by a junior minister.

Between 1964 and the establishment of devolution in 1999 there were regularly two junior ministers within the Welsh Office, often but not always consisting of a Minister of State and a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, with each assigned specific roles (health, education etc.). Following devolution and the transfer of powers from Westminster to the National Assembly, there was only one Under-Secretary of State working directly with the Secretary of State.

A second[2] (and unpaid) Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State role was created in 2012 during the Coalition Government with one minister serving in the Commons and one in the Lords. This situation was maintained following the 2015 general election with two Under-Secretaries of State, one being paid by the Welsh Office and one unpaid (or paid by another government department for a joint role). Following the appointment of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister, Nick Bourne resigned and no replacement Minister was appointed.

Ministers of Welsh Affairs (1951–1964)

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For a list of ministers of Welsh affairs see: Ministers of Welsh Affairs (1951–1964)

Minister of State for Wales in the House of Commons (1964–1999)

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Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Wales in the House of Commons (1974–1999)

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Junior Welsh Office Ministers in the House of Commons (1999–present)

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Colour key
  Labour   Conservative

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Wales in the House of Commons (1999–present)

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Name Portrait Term of office Political party P.M. Welsh Sec.
David Hanson   29 July 1999 11 June 2001 Labour Tony Blair Peter Hain
Don Touhig[8]   11 June 2001 May 2005 Labour
Nick Ainger[9] May 2005 27 June 2007 Labour
Huw Irranca-Davies[10]   29 June 2007 5 October 2008 Labour Gordon Brown Peter Hain & Paul Murphy
Wayne David[11]   5 October 2008 11 May 2010 Labour Paul Murphy &Peter Hain
David Jones   11 May 2010 4 September 2012 Conservative David Cameron Cheryl Gillan
Stephen Crabb
Also served as an Assistant Government Whip
  4 September 2012 15 July 2014 Conservative David Jones
Alun Cairns   15 July 2014 19 March 2016 Conservative Stephen Crabb
Guto Bebb   19 March 2016 9 January 2018 Conservative Alun Cairns
Theresa May
Stuart Andrew   9 January 2018[12] 19 July 2018 Conservative
Mims Davies
Unpaid by Wales Office.
Also serving as Assistant Government Whip
  26 July 2018[12] 5 November 2018 Conservative
Nigel Adams
Unpaid by Wales Office.
Also serving as Assistant Government Whip
  5 November 2018 3 April 2019[13] Conservative
Kevin Foster[14]
Unpaid by Wales Office.
Also serving as Assistant Government Whip
  4 April 2019 16 December 2019 Conservative
Boris Johnson
David Davies[15]
Also serving as Assistant Government Whip 13 February 2020 – 25 July 2022

Lord Commissioner of the Treasury 25 July 2022 – 8 September 2022

(Unpaid by Wales Office during this time)
  16 December 2019 25 October 2022 Conservative Simon Hart
Robert Buckland
Liz Truss
James Davies   27 October 2022 13 November 2023 Conservative Rishi Sunak David Davies
Fay Jones   13 November 2023[16] 5 July 2024 Conservative
Nia Griffith   9 July 2024 Incumbent Labour Sir Keir Starmer Jo Stevens

Junior Welsh Office Ministers in the House of Lords (2012–present)

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Colour key
  Conservative   Liberal Democrats

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Wales in the House of Lords (2012–present)

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Name Portrait Term of office Political party Prime Minister Secretary of State
The Baroness Randerson
Unpaid
  5 September 2012[2] 8 May 2015 Liberal Democrats David Cameron
(Coalition)
David Jones & Stephen Crabb
The Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

Also served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for
Energy and Climate Change (2015–16) and for
Housing,Communities and Local Government (from 2016)

  12 May 2015 17 June 2017 Conservative David Cameron
(II)
Theresa May
(I)
Stephen Crabb & Alun Cairns
The Lord Duncan of Springbank

Also served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland

  17 June 2017 27 November 2017 Conservative Theresa May
(II)
Alun Cairns
The Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

And Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing,
Communities and Local Government

  27 November 2017 26 July 2019[17] Conservative
Office not in use 26 July 2019 Present Conservative

Notes

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1.^ Promoted to Minister of State in 1987.

References

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  1. ^ "Parliamentary Under Secretary of State". UK Government. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Wales Office: Lib Dem Baroness Randerson made minister". BBC News. 5 September 2012.
  3. ^ TheyWorkForYou.com. "Lord Rowlands". Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Ian Grist". UK Parliament. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Nicholas Bennett". UK Parliament. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Contact information for Lord Hain - MPS and Lords - UK Parliament".
  7. ^ a b "Ministerial Departures since 1997 - Parliamentary Information List" (PDF). Parliament of the United Kingdom. 24 February 2009.
  8. ^ "Contact information for Lord Touhig - MPS and Lords - UK Parliament".
  9. ^ "Parliamentary career for Nick Ainger - MPS and Lords - UK Parliament".
  10. ^ "Welsh MPs handed reshuffle roles". BBC News. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  11. ^ "Wayne David MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Mims Davies is new Wales Office minister". BBC News. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  13. ^ Adams, Nigel [@nadams] (3 April 2019). "Following yesterday's cabinet, this morning I've been to Downing Street & resigned my position as UK Govt Minister for Wales & Govt Whip. I'm grateful to the PM for the opportunity to serve as a Minister since 2017 & will continue to serve my constituents from the backbenches. https://t.co/W15xS4cOBP" (Tweet). Retrieved 29 December 2020 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "Kevin Foster announced as new junior Wales Office minister". BBC News. 4 April 2019.
  15. ^ "Welsh Secretary Simon Hart promises no 'petty arguments' with Cardiff Bay". BBC News. 17 December 2019.
  16. ^ "Ministerial appointments: November 2023". Gov.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  17. ^ Bourne, Nick [@lordnickbourne] (26 July 2019). "I have resigned for the first time in my life and it is from a job which I really love and enjoy and which I had just been offered once more; but I cannot accept a no deal on Oct 31st and so I go 1/2" (Tweet). Retrieved 29 December 2020 – via Twitter.

See also

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