, agency_type = Ministerial department , type = Department , logo = Wales Office logo.png , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = Gwydyr House, Whitehall (geograph 5590927).jpg , picture_width = , picture_caption =

Gwydyr House Gwydyr House ( cy, Tŷ Gwydyr) is a Grade II* listed mansion in Whitehall, and is the London headquarters of the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales. The house lies on the eastern side of the street, opposite Dover House. History Gwydy ...

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...

, London , formed = 1 July 1999History
– Walesoffice.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2012, , preceding1 =

Welsh Office The Welsh Office ( cy, Swyddfa Gymreig) was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It was established in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales, and was headed by the Secretary of State f ...

, dissolved = , superseding = , jurisdiction =

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, headquarters = *Wales ** 1 Caspian Point, Caspian Way, Cardiff, CF10 4DQ * Westminster **

, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2NP , employees = 52 (2016–2017) , budget = ~£4.7 million for 2016–2017 , minister1_name =

David TC Davies David Thomas Charles Davies (born 27 July 1970) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Wales since 2022 and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Monmouth since 2005. A member of the Conservative Party, he chaired the Wel ...

, minister1_pfo =

Secretary of State for Wales The secretary of state for Wales ( cy, ysgrifennydd gwladol Cymru), also referred to as the Welsh secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Wales Office. The incumbent is a member ...

, chief1_name = , chief1_position = , chief2_name = , chief2_position = , child1_agency = , website = , footnotes = , chief3_name = , chief3_position = , chief4_name = , chief4_position = , chief5_name = , chief5_position = , chief6_name = , chief6_position = , chief7_name = , chief7_position = , chief8_name = , chief8_position = , chief9_name = , chief9_position = , parent_department =

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Justi ...

The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales ( cy, Swyddfa Ysgrifennydd Gwladol Cymru), informally known as the Wales Office (''Swyddfa Cymru''), is a department of

His Majesty's Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

. It replaced the former

, which had extensive responsibility for governing

prior to Welsh devolution in 1999.

History

In the past, the Office was called "Wales' voice in Westminster and Westminster's voice in Wales". However, it is significantly less powerful since the

Government of Wales Act 2006 The Government of Wales Act 2006 (c 32) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the then-National Assembly for Wales (now the Senedd) and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily. The Act creates a system o ...

: it is primarily responsible for carrying out the few functions remaining with the

that have not been transferred already to the

Senedd The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gov ...

(Welsh Parliament); and for securing funds for Wales as part of the annual budgetary settlement. The Secretary of State for Wales has overall responsibility for the office but it is located administratively within the

(until 2007, the Department for Constitutional Affairs).

Ministers

The ministers in the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales are as follows: Unlike

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

, Wales does not have its own Law Officers of the Crown; it is part of the

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...

legal jurisdiction. The

Attorney General for England and Wales His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales is one of the law officers of the Crown and the principal legal adviser to sovereign and Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales. The attorney general maintains the Attorney G ...

therefore advises the United Kingdom Government on its law.Cabinet Office List of Government Departments and Ministers: Attorney General's Office
/ref> His deputy is the

Solicitor General for England and Wales His Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, known informally as the Solicitor General, is one of the law officers of the Crown in the government of the United Kingdom. They are the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to ad ...

Future

Following the 'yes' vote in the 2011 referendum on giving the Assembly direct law-making powers, some politicians in Wales, particularly from

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...

, have called for the abolition of the Wales Office.Presiding officer suggests dropping Welsh secretary
– BBC News. Published 7 March 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2012

Lord Elis-Thomas Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Baron Elis-Thomas (born 18 October 1946) is a Welsh politician who served as the Leader of Plaid Cymru from 1984 to 1991 and represented the Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency in the Senedd from 1999 to 2021. Born in Carm ...

, Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales said: However, Lord Elis-Thomas was accused of following a "

separatist Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seeking greate ...

agenda" by the Conservative Cheryl Gillan, then Secretary of State for Wales. She was supported by her Labour predecessor

Peter Hain Peter Gerald Hain, Baron Hain (born 16 February 1950), is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2005 to 2007, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2007 to 2008 and twice as Secretary of State ...

, who declared that Wales "still needs a voice around the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

in Westminster".

References

External links

* {{Authority control Ministerial departments of the Government of the United Kingdom Government of Wales Politics of Wales Organisations based in Cardiff Government bodies based in London 1999 establishments in the United Kingdom