3.1 the structure, role, and powers of the executive Flashcards
What is the executive?
the decision-making branch of government, centred on the prime minister and Cabinet and its committees
What is the Cabinet?
the group of senior ministers, chaired by the prime minister, which is the main collective decision-making body in the government
What is a minister?
a member of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords who serves in government, usually exercising specific responsibilities in a department
What is a government department?
a part of the executive, usually with specific responsibility over an area such as education, health or defence
What are the three main things a prime minister does?
- head of executive, chairs the cabinet and manages its agenda
- appoints all members of the cabinet and junior ministers, decides who sits on cabinet committees
- organises the structure of government (create, abolish or merge departments)
How many senior ministers are usually in the cabinet?
20-23
Who is the UK’s most senior civil servant?
Cabinet secretary
What is provided by the Cabinet office?
administrative support
help delivering policy
What are two examples of a government department?
Ministry of Defence
Department for Transport
What are executive agencies?
semi-independent bodies that carry out some of the functions of government departments
What is an example of an executive agencies?
DVLA
What are the three important roles of the executive?
- proposing legislation
- proposing the budget
- making policy
What does the executive announce in the Kings speech every year?
a new programme
What proposals did the May 2015 Queens speech include?
- an in/out referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU
- measures to ensure that decisions affecting England, would be taken only with the consent of MPs from those parts of the UK
- legislation to protect essential public services against strikes
Who is the budget created by?
chancellor of the exchequer
What is the budget?
an annual statement of the governments plans for changes to taxation and public spending
What are some important policy decisions taken by the 2010-15 coalition government?
- streamlining the welfare system by introducing a single benefit for working-age people (universal credit)
- allowing parents and voluntary groups to set up ‘free schools’, independent of local councils
- introducing more competition into the NHS and putting GPs in control of the commissioning of care for patients
What are royal prerogative powers?
powers that historically belonged to the Crown, but which over time have been transferred to the prime minister or other ministers
What are the main prerogative powers still in use?
- award honours
- sign treaties
- grant and withdraw passports
- grant legal pardons
- take action to maintain order in case of emergency
- appoint ministers and other senior office holders
- declare war and authorise the use of the armed forces
What did governments accept after the Iraq War in 2003 and the 2013 debate on air strikes in Syria?
governments have accepted that military action requires prior parliamentary approval
What is the guillotine (allocation of time motion)?
procedure that allows the government to curtail debate on the individual clauses of a bill
What is secondary legislation?
law made without passing a new act of parliament
What are statutory instruments?
enable a government to modify or repeal existing legislation without introducing a new bill
What are two things statutory instruments were used for in 2016?
- abolish maintenance grants for university students
- allow fracking in national parks
