The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (), 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.
History 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 (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) 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) 1964–1966 Goronwy Roberts 1966–1969 Ifor Davies 1967–1970 Eirene White 1970–1974 David Gibson-Watt 1974–1983 None. Two Under-Secretary of States for Wales existed, see below 1983–1987 John Stradling Thomas 1987–1994 Wyn Roberts 1994–1999 None. Two Under-Secretary of States for Wales were created, see below
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Wales in the House of Commons (1974–1999)
13 October 1969 to 19 June 1970 Edward Rowlands 1970-1974 ??? 1974–1976 Alec Jones & Barry Jones 1976–1979 Alec Jones & Edward Rowlands 1979–1983 Wyn Roberts & Michael Roberts 1983–1985 Wyn Roberts & John Stradling Thomas 1985–1987 Wyn Roberts & Mark Robinson 15 June 1987 – 28 November 1990 Ian Grist 3 December 1990 – 20 July 1992 Nicholas Bennett 20 July 1994 – 2 June 1996 Gwilym Jones & Rod Richards 2 June 1996 – 2 May 1997 Gwilym Jones & Jonathan Evans 2 May 1997 – 28 July 1998 and Peter Hain and Win Griffiths 29 July 1998 – 29 July 1999 Peter Hain and Jon Owen Jones
Junior Welsh Office Ministers in the House of Commons (1999–present)
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Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Wales in the House of Commons (1999–present) Name PortraitTerm of office Political party P.M. Welsh Sec. David Hanson 29 July 1999 11 June 2001 LabourTony BlairPeter Hain Don Touhig 11 June 2001 May 2005 Labour Nick Ainger May 2005 27 June 2007 Labour Huw Irranca-Davies 29 June 2007 5 October 2008 LabourGordon Brown Peter Hain & Paul Murphy Wayne David 5 October 2008 11 May 2010 Labour Paul Murphy &Peter Hain David Jones 11 May 2010 4 September 2012 ConservativeDavid 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 ConservativeAlun Cairns Theresa May Stuart Andrew 9 January 2018 19 July 2018 Conservative Mims Davies Unpaid by Wales Office. Also serving as Assistant Government Whip 26 July 2018 5 November 2018 Conservative Nigel Adams Unpaid by Wales Office. Also serving as Assistant Government Whip 5 November 2018 3 April 2019 Conservative Kevin FosterUnpaid by Wales Office. Also serving as Assistant Government Whip 4 April 2019 16 December 2019 Conservative Boris Johnson David Davies 16 December 2019 25 October 2022 ConservativeSimon Hart Robert Buckland Liz Truss James Davies 27 October 2022 13 November 2023 Conservative Rishi Sunak David Davies Fay Jones 13 November 2023 5 July 2024 Conservative Nia Griffith 9 July 2024 7 September 2025 Labour Sir Keir Starmer Jo Stevens Anna McMorrin 7 September 2025 Incumbent Labour
Junior Welsh Office Ministers in the House of Lords (2012–present)
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Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Wales in the House of Lords (2012–present)Name PortraitTerm of office Political partyPrime Minister Secretary of State Jennifer Randerson, Baroness Randerson Unpaid 5 September 2012 8 May 2015 Liberal Democrats David Cameron(Coalition) David Jones & Stephen Crabb Nick Bourne, 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 Ian Duncan, Baron Duncan of Springbank Also served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland 17 June 2017 27 November 2017 ConservativeTheresa May(II)Alun Cairns Nick Bourne, Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth And Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government 27 November 2017 26 July 2019 Conservative Office not in use 26 July 2019 Present Conservative
Notes 1.Promoted to Minister of State in 1987.
References
See also Under-Secretary of State for Scotland Secretary of State for Wales First Minister for Wales