Chapter 8 - Government Ministers

Question 1

Name the 4 different ministerial roles

Answer 1

Policy leadership
Representing departmental interests
Departmental management
Relations with Parliament

Question 2

The cabinet is a collective body and therefore has…

Answer 2

Collective responsibility

Question 3

What are the 3 main elements of collective responsibility?

Answer 3

Secrecy
Binding decisions
Confidence vote

Question 4

Name 2 individuals who have resigned from the cabinet due to disagreeing with government policy

Answer 4

Nigel Lawson 1989
Sir Geoffrey Howe 1990
Robin Cook 2003

Question 5

The convention of Collective Responsibility has been slowly eroded- what 5 factors account for this?

Answer 5

Temporary Suspension (eg 1975 EEC)
Leaks
Dissent and non-resignation (eg Clare Short 2003 stayed 2 months after dissenting Iraq war)
Prime ministerial dominance (PM ignores cabinet)
Coalition (Lib Dem ministers not bound by CR in certain situations)

Question 6

Define Individual Ministerial Responsibility

Answer 6

The convention that ministers are accountable to Parliament for their personal conduct, the general conduct of their department and the policies they pursue

Question 7

What has the government ruled ministers should not be held personally responsible for?

Answer 7

Decisions made in their department that they had no knowledge of
Operational matters handled by officials in departments or executive agencies

Question 8

What did the 1996 Scott Report suggest about Minister’s duty?

Answer 8

They had to be as open as possible and only culpable if they misled Parliament knowingly

Question 9

What are the grounds for resignation of ministers?

Answer 9

Mistakes made within departments
Policy failure (EG Lord Farrington- foreign secretary- resigned in 1982 after Argentina invaded the Falklands)
Personal Misconduct (EG Lord Sewell 2015)
Political Pressure (EG 2002 Minister for Transport Stephen Byers- series of issues)