Our governance

The remit of the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales departmental board.

Our departmental board

The departmental board is responsible for reviewing the department’s strategy and monitoring performance against its Outcome Delivery Plan (ODP).

The board aims to:

  • provide visible and effective leadership to the organisation
  • ensure sound management of the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales’s resources and its corporate risks
  • deliver a safe and healthy working environment for staff and visitors.

The board meets up to six times per year and is usually chaired by the Secretary of State for Wales.

OSSW Management Board: terms of reference (PDF, 156 KB, 6 pages)

There are three sub-committees which report regularly to the management board:

Senior Leadership Team

The Office’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT) comprises the Director and deputy directors in the department. It meets weekly to discuss operational matters, including major events, resourcing and budgetary issues. The Departmental Board may remit matters to the SLT for action and decision, and the SLT may escalate matters to the Board for strategic oversight and decision.

The UK Governance Group

The Office forms part of the UK Governance Group (UKGG) which comprises the Union and Constitution Group in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland (Scotland Office); the Office of the Advocate General (OAG) and the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales (Wales Office). The Group leads the UK Government’s work on constitutional and devolution issues and is the primary source of advice to UK Government Ministers and Departments for this area.

The Director attends weekly meetings of the UKGG Senior Leadership Team to discuss matters relating to devolution and the constitution which cross departmental boundaries.