Bill: Passed The Westray amendment to the Ministries establishment act

[ChAkselsen1450]

Author: Westray
Sponsor: Chris West
Type: Act of Parliament


A
BILL
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Amend the Ministries Establishment Act

Preamble: The Ministries Establishment Act currently creates some confusion regarding the operation of Ministries with the establishment of “Non-Ministerial Department Heads" This bill seeks to resolve that confusion by replacing it with a Prime Minister’s Office that has three simple roles: Deputy Prime minister, Attorney General and Cabinet Advisor.

1. Removal of Non-Ministerial Departments
(a) Hereby removes Section 6 Non-Ministerial Departments under the Ministries Establishment Act
(b) Hereby amends the Ministries Establishment Act, under Section 7 removes “This act hereby establishes a Non-Ministerial Department of Property Compliance which shall primarily be charged with”
(c) Hereby amends the Ministries Establishment Act, under Section 8 removes “This act hereby establishes a Non-Ministerial Department of Zoning and Planning which shall primarily be charged with”
(c) Hereby amends the Ministries Establishment Act, under Section 10 removes “This act hereby establishes a Non-Ministerial Department of Legal Affairs which shall primarily be charged with”
(d) Hereby moves any responsibilities previously assigned to Ministerial Departments under the respective Ministry as a whole instead.

2. Creation of the Prime Minister's Office
(a) Hereby establishes a new section under the Ministries Establishment Act, titled “Office of the Prime Minister”
(b) Under this new section, inserts the following subsection “The Prime Minister may appoint an Attorney General, Deputy Prime Minister, and or Cabinet Advisor to support in the administration of government.”
(c) Under such subsection, inserts the following sub-subsections:
(i) “The Attorney General shall be responsible for representing the government in court cases, and working alongside the Ministry of Justice to manage prosecutors.”
(ii) “Cabinet Advisors shall be responsible for supporting the government in a specific area that is not already managed by a Minister. This could include, but is not limited to: public relations, government planning, research coordination, and special projects management. They shall retain the general title of ‘Cabinet Advisor’ regardless of responsibility.”
(iii) “The Deputy Prime Minister shall be responsible for supporting the Prime Minister in governing the country in their absence. The Deputy Prime Minister must be an incumbent Member of Parliament.”
(d) Under this new section, inserts an additional subsection “Up to one Attorney General, one Deputy Prime Minister, and three Cabinet Advisors may be appointed by the Prime Minister. They are also subject to dismissal at the discretion of the Prime Minister at any time.”
(iiii) Hereby amends the Ministries Establishment Act, under Section 2 replaces “Allow for non-ministerial departments” with “Allow for an Office of the Prime Minister.”
(iiiii) With the exception of the Deputy prime minister, roles under the Prime ministers office shall not be subject to automatic removal at the end of term.
(iiiiii) The deputy prime minister shall be automaticly removed at the same time as the prime minister unless removed by the sitting prime minister beforehand.

3. Clarity of Informal Sub-Departments
(a) Ministers may continue to have informal departments within their own Ministry to help with the organization and management of employees.