Prime Minister and the Executive

Question 1

what are bilateral meetings?

Answer 1

Meetings between two people, usually used to refer to meetings between the prime minister and a particular government minister

Question 2

what does the term bureaucracy mean?

Answer 2

A term meaning ‘rule by officials’, often used to refer to the civil servants who implement government policy

Question 3

what are cabinet committees?

Answer 3

Small groups of cabinet ministers, established by the Prime Minister, which meet regularly to discuss a particular policy area and make decisions

Question 4

what is cabinet government?

Answer 4

A system of government where the cabinet is the central collective decision-making body of government Cabinet Office is Government department, with over 2,000 civil servants, responsible for supporting the Prim

Question 5

who is the cabinet secretary

Answer 5

The most senior civil servant in the country - provides policy advice to the Prime Minister and Cabinet

Question 6

who are civil servants?

Answer 6

Permanent staff, employed by government departments to support ministers with administrative work and provide neutral advice and expertise

Question 7

what is a kitchen cabinet?

Answer 7

Term used to describe small, informal meetings between the Prime Minister and select ministers, advisors and officials

Question 8

what is the Prime Minister’s Office?

Answer 8

Senior civil servants and special advisers, based at 10 Downing Street, who give policy advice and support with communications

Question 9

sofa government?

Answer 9

Term associated with Tony Blair, who was said to prefer to discuss issues with individual ministers in No. 10 rather than hold full Cabinet meetings

Question 10

who are special advisors?

Answer 10

Temporary and partisan appointments, made by ministers, with the approval of the prime minister, to work alongside, assist and advise them

Question 11

what are spin doctors

Answer 11

A special adviser is employed to give positive interpretations of events to the media and promote a positive party image

Question 12

what is the government also referred to as?

Answer 12

the executive

Question 13

what are the four parts of the executive?

Answer 13

prime minister, cabinet, ministers and junior ministers

Question 14

what is a minister?

Answer 14

a member of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords who serves in government,

Question 15

what is a government department?

Answer 15

a part of the executive, usually with specific responsibility

Question 16

what is the cabinet?

Answer 16

the group of senior ministers

Question 17

what is the role of the PM?

Answer 17

head of the executive and chairs the Cabinet. Appoints members of both Cabinet and junior ministers and decides who sits on committees. Organises the structure of the government.

Question 18

what is the role of the cabinet?

Answer 18

includes 20 to 23 senior ministers. Senior figures who are not a part of the cabinet can attend its meetings. Many decisions are made in Cabinet committees to do with policies, economic affairs and national security

Question 19

what is the role of government departments?

Answer 19

Each one is responsible for an area of policy. Each is headed by a Cabinet minister and supported by several junior ministers.
Eg. the department for education.

Question 20

what are executive agencies?

Answer 20

Semi-independent bodies that carry out some government department functions.

Question 21

what are the 3 main roles of The Executive?

Answer 21

1) Proposing legislation.

The executive introduces proposals for new laws or amendments to existing laws.: new programme at the start of each parliamentary session in the Queen’s speech, which is read out to both Houses of Parliament by the monarch, but is written by the government. has the power to introduce legislation to contend with emergencies, known as a ‘doctor’s mandate’.

2)Proposing the budget

The budget is created by the chancellor of the exchequer in consultation with the prime minister. The budget is an annual statement of the government’s plans for taxation and public spending. If a new government comes to power a new budget must be set in place.

3)Making policy decisions

The Executive decides the future direction of the country.

Question 22

what are royal prerogative powers?

Answer 22

powers that historically belonged to the Crown, which have been transferred to the Prime Minister or other ministers.

Question 23

what are the main prerogative powers?

Answer 23

-award honours sign treaties
-declare war and authorise the use of the armed forces
-take action to maintain order -in case of emergency
grant and withdraw passports
-grant legal pardons
appoint in listers and other senior office holders

Question 24

how can legislation be initiated?

Answer 24

Legislation can be introduced in either the Commons or the Lords but it is usual for the most important bills to go to the Commons first. If there are too many members in the House of Commons then, it can rely on the whipping system- this can cause rebellions but rarely. The Guillotine is a procedure that allows the government to curtail debate on the individual clauses of a bill.

Question 25

what is secondary legislation?

Answer 25

Secondary law is law made without passing a new act in parliament instead powers are used. Statutory instruments enable a government to modify or repeal existing legislation however critics have raised concerns about doing this.

Question 26

what is the concept of ministerial responsibility?

Answer 26

Political circumstances are important in determining how the concept of responsibility is applied in practice. There are no hard and fast governing the circumstances in which ministers may be obliged to take responsibility for their actions by resigning from the government.

Question 27

what is individual ministerial responsibility?

Answer 27

the idea that ministers are responsible for the running of their department and its policies. They are also responsible for the standard of their conduct. Ministers have a duty to parliament to account and be held to account, for the policies, decisions and actions of their departments and agencies.

Question 28

In cases of individual ministerial responsibility, what does the individual minister depend on?

Answer 28

*how serious the issue is perceived to be
* the level of criticism in parliament and the media when a mistake is made
* the attitude of the prime minister of the day.

Question 29

what is the concept of collective ministerial repsponsibility?

Answer 29

the idea that ministers are responsible for the running of their department and its policies. They are also responsible for the standard of their conduct. Ministers have a duty to parliament to account and be held to account, for the policies, decisions and actions of their departments and agencies.

Question 30

what are exceptions to collective ministerial responsibility?

Answer 30

There have been occasions when collective responsibility has been modified for political reasons A notable example was the need to find a compromise between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to form a coalition government in 2010.

Question 30

what factors govern the PM’s selection of ministers?

Answer 30

The PM must consider the importance of including individuals with ability and experience.

PM must consider how to use cabinet appointments to assert or establish PM’s authority.

The PM can use appointments to reward loyalty and include key allies.

The PM must consider maintaining a balance between different factions within the governing party.

The PM must meet expectations of diversity; in John Major’s first cabinet (1990) he was criticised for not including any women.

Question 31

what is the relationship between the PM and cabinet?

Answer 31

The cabinet is formally responsible for policy-making.
However, the executive has more recently been dominated by the Prime Minister.
This is because of the rise of presidential government; when the Prime Minister is much less dependent on the cabinet.

Question 32

what factors affect the relationship between the cabinet and the prime minister?

Answer 32

manangment skills of the PM

PM’s ability to set the agenda

The use of cabinet committees and informal groups to make decisions.

the development of the PM’s office and the cabinet’s office

the impact of the wider political and economic situation

Question 32

what are the arguments that the cabinet remains an important body?

Answer 32

The cabinet approves government decisions, so confers legitimacy in the eyes of parliament.

PM recognises the need for cabinet support; the cabinet is important in times of national crisis such as military war.

The cabinet is where the programme of government business in parliament is discussed and it is where disagreements between government departments are resolved.

The UK does not have a ‘presidential style’, the PM must maintain support (Thatcher demonstrates this)