8/5/2003

First Minister Rhodri Morgan today (Thursday, 8 May) unveiled his recast nine-member Cabinet that will deliver for Wales in the second term of the Welsh Assembly Government.

The appointments include two new faces in the Cabinet, both from North Wales – Karen Sinclair, AM for Clwyd South, becomes Minister for Assembly Business, and Alun Pugh, AM for Clwyd West, is the new Minister for Culture, Sport and the Welsh Language.

A major change in the shape of the Cabinet now means there will be a dedicated Minister to deliver the Social Justice agenda for Wales. This key portfolio has been allocated to former Finance Minister Edwina Hart.

The First Minister said: “We have been endorsed and elected to deliver our manifesto commitments. This is a real powerhouse of a team that will make good our promise to the people of Wales, especially those who live in the communities as yet untouched by improvements in economic prosperity and social well-being. We asked for the tools for the job. We got the mandate we wanted. This is the team that will put it all into action.”

Full details of the new Cabinet are as follows:

First Minister – Rhodri Morgan

Responsible for the exercise of functions of the Assembly Cabinet; Responsible for the exercise of functions by the Assembly Cabinet; policy development and the co-ordination of policy, the relationships with the rest of the UK, Europe and Wales Abroad; the maintenance of Open Government. Staffing/Civil Service.

Finance, Local Government and Public Services – Sue Essex

Responsible for budgeting and managing the finances of the Government; the development of the strategic approach to the delivery of public services; and local government.

Minister for Assembly Business – Karen Sinclair

Responsible for managing the business of the Government in the Assembly; and acting as Chief Whip to the Government’s supporters in the Assembly.

Social Justice and Regeneration – Edwina Hart

Responsible for the Government’s programme for regenerating the communities of Wales in particular those suffering the greatest disadvantage: including Communities First, Anti-Poverty initiatives, the Social Economy, the Voluntary Sector, Community Safety and relations with the Police, the Fire Service, Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Youth Justice, Housing, Equality.

Health and Social Care – Jane Hutt

Responsible for Health and NHS Wales. Social Services and social care, food safety. Children.

Economic Development – Andrew Davies

Responsible for innovation and enterprise; industrial policy and business support; inward investment, promotion of indigenous companies and regional development, transport, energy, tourism, strategic co-ordinating responsibility for ICT and Structural Funds. Knowledge Exploitation Fund.

Education and Life-Long Learning – Jane Davidson

Responsible for Schools, Further Education and Skills development, Higher Education, Youth Service and Careers Service.

Environment, Planning and Countryside – Carwyn Jones

Responsible for the environment and sustainable development, Town and Country Planning, Countryside and conservation issues, agriculture and rural development including forestry and food production.

Culture, the Welsh Language and Sports – Alun Pugh

Responsible for Arts, Libraries and Museums, Sport and recreation, and the languages of Wales




Biographies of Cabinet members

Rt Hon Rhodri Morgan (Labour – Cardiff West)
First Minister for Wales; Leader, Welsh Labour. Born Cardiff 1939, educated at Oxford and Harvard Universities. Industrial Development Officer, South Glamorgan County Council, 1974-80, Head of European Commission Office in Wales, 1980-87, MP for Cardiff West 1987-2001. Opposition Front Bench Spokesman on Energy 1988-92, and Welsh Affairs 1992-1997. Chairman of the House of Commons Select Committee on Public Administration 1997-1999. Economic Development Secretary, National Assembly for Wales, 1999-2000. Elected First Minister in February 2000. Appointed to the Privy Council, July 2000. Interests include sport, athletics, and watching marine wildlife.

Sue Essex (Labour – Cardiff North)
Former Minister for Environment, Welsh Assembly Government. Born in 1945 and brought up in North London she trained as a planner and moved to South Wales in 1971 where she worked in local government before becoming a lecturer in planning at Cardiff University. Also the Leader of the former Cardiff City Council and a former member of the Countryside Council for Wales. Her political interests include transport, local government, environment and planning.

Karen Sinclair (Labour – Clwyd South)
Born in Wrexham in 1952, she worked for 14 years in the Youth Service, 12 years as a contract service manager with Social Services (Adult Learning Disabilities) and is a former Citizens Advice Bureau volunteer and school Governor. She has served as a member of both District and County Councils. An active union member and her interests are Agriculture/Rural Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Health, Social Services and Education. She is a keen horsewoman.

Edwina Hart MBE (Labour – Gower)
Former Minister for Finance, Local Government and Communities. Her portfolio included responsibility for Social Inclusion, Community Regeneration, Community Safety and Crime
Reduction (including Drug and Alcohol Misuse) as well as the new Assembly
building. Born in 1957,she is a former Trade Union official working with the WTUC and has also worked in banking. She is an ex-President of BIFU and was awarded the MBE in 1998 for services to the trade union movement. Mrs Hart is a former member of the Broadcasting Council for Wales, Wales Millennium Centre and the South West Wales Economic Forum and the Employment Appeal Tribunal. She also served as a non-executive director for Charwarae Teg and a member of the Court of Governors, University of Wales, Swansea. A member of the T&GWU and ISTC, her interests include Economic Development and Equal Opportunities.

Jane Hutt (Labour – Vale of Glamorgan)
Minister for Health and Social Services, Welsh Assembly Government, since 1999. Was a former director of Chwarae Teg and non-executive director of the Cardiff Community Health Care Trust. Former vice chairs of the Wales Council for Voluntary Action, she was the Welsh member on the New Opportunities (UK) Fund and a former vice-chair of the Social Services Committee on the former South Glamorgan County Council. Jane is married with two children and is an Honorary Fellow of the University of Wales Institute Cardiff.

Andrew Davies (Labour – Swansea West)
Economic Development Minister, Welsh Assembly Government, since 2001. A former Chair of Swansea West Labour Party and member of the Welsh Labour Executive Committee, he was a regional party official from 1984 -1991. Born in 1952, he is a graduate of Swansea University and a trained counsellor and lectured extensively in adult, further and continuing education. He has also worked in the private, voluntary and public sectors, including working for the Ford Motor Company on the innovative EDAP programme. He was the Associate Director of a public affairs company before his election as an Assembly Member.

Jane Davidson (Labour – Pontypridd)
Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning, National Assembly for Wales since 2000 and a former Deputy Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales. Born in 1957, she was Head of Social Affairs at the Welsh Local Government Association and formerly a member of the Arts Council for Wales and its Lottery Board. Also a former councillor in Cardiff, teacher and youth community worker, her interests include health, lifelong learning, social inclusion, theatre and diving.

Carwyn Jones (Labour – Bridgend)
Former Minister for Open Government and Assembly Business, Welsh Assembly Government, and Chair of the Assembly's Equalities of Opportunity Committee. Born in 1967, he was a barrister in chambers prior to the1999 elections. He has been a Bridgend County Borough Councillor and was Chair of the County Borough Council Labour Group. He was Rural Affairs Minister for Wales from July 2000 and during the time of the Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak. He is a member of Amnesty International and the Fabian Society and a former professional tutor at Cardiff University. A fluent Welsh speaker, his interests include Transport, Europe, Law and Farming.

Alun Pugh (Labour – Clwyd West)
Born in the Rhondda in 1955, he has previously served as Labour Whip, Deputy Minister for Education & Lifelong Learning, Health and Economic Development. He was a member of the Education and Lifelong Learning Committee and the North Wales Regional Committee. Before his election to the Assembly he was Assistant Principal at West Cheshire College. His favourite leisure pursuit is mountaineering, having climbed both Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn.

Source:	National Assembly for Wales
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