The cabinet

Question 1

Who is in the cabinet?

Answer 1

Senior ministers

Question 2

How many can receive a cabinet minister’s salary

Answer 2

22

Question 3

What are the different types of cabinet committees?

Answer 3

-ministerial standing committees, which are permanent for the PM’s time in office
-ministerial subcommittees, which report to a standing committee
-ad hoc committees, which are temporary committees set up to deal with a particular issue
- implementation task forces and roadmap task forces, which track progress on policies that cross departmental boundaries

Question 4

How powerful are ministerial standing committees?

Answer 4

They have considerable autonomy to determine the direction and detail of policy. Only when a final verdict hasn’t been reached will the cabinet concern itself with the deliberations of a cabinet committee

Question 5

How powerful is the Prime Minister within cabinet committees?

Answer 5

They are responsible for the creation, membership, chairing and terms of reference of cabinet committees. They can establish committees to examine issues they wish to prioritise or which are pressing concerns.

Question 6

Who has to approval legislation proposals before it’s discussed in cabinet committees?

Answer 6

The treasury and law officers
If a proposal impacts upon the work of another department, the minister of that department should seek the views of the other department

Question 7

What is the cabinet office?

Answer 7

Created in 1916, it’s a government department, which is responsible for supporting the cabinet system and the prime minister and managing the civil service
The key unit is the cabinet secretariat. They help coordinate work on issues that bridge departments and acts as a facilitator on cases of dispute.
The head of civil service attends cabinet meetings as its secretary

Question 8

What are the role and powers of the cabinet?

Answer 8

Registering and ratifying decisions taken elsewhere in the cabinet system
Discussing and making decisions on key issues
Receiving reports on key developments and determining government business in Parliament
Settling disputes between government departments

Question 9

What is the cabinet’s power within registering and ratifying decisions?

Answer 9

The main business of their concerns are questions that engage the collective responsibility because they raise major policy issues or are of critical public importance and matters on which there is an unresolved dispute between government departments.
The cabinet acts as a clearing house for policy, registering and ratifying decisions taken elsewhere.

Question 10

How is the cabinets power limited within ratifying and registering decisions?

Answer 10

If the PM and minister responsible for the policy in question agree, other ministers have little chance of changing the decision.
Cabinets ability to decide policy is constrained by the infrequency of meetings, it’s size and the detailed nature of policy. Cabinet minister are primarily concerned with policy in their department and have little time to study policy in other departments, lack expertise and may not see relevant papers.
The frequent turnover of ministers also limits their impact

Question 11

What are the cabinet’s powers under discussing and making decisions on major issues?

Answer 11

Formally the cabinet remains the ultimate decision making body in the government. However, for most areas of government activity, the cabinet is not an important actor in the decision making process. It’s role is more significant when:
Issues are especially important or sensitive
major or unexpected developments require rapid decision
Government departments and ministerial committees have been unable to reach agreement

Question 12

What reports are standard at cabinet meetings?

Answer 12

Parliamentary business
Economic and home affairs
Foreign affairs

Question 13

What are the cabinet’s powers under the role of settling disputes?

Answer 13

If an issue cannot be settled in cabinet committee or bilateral meetings, it may be referred to the cabinet. Some appeals are straightforward matters of arbitration between competing departments claims, for example over spending allocations. The cabinet judge the strength of the cases and reaches a binding decision

Question 14

What are the arguments that the cabinet is submissive to the PM?

Answer 14

The PM can appoint their supporters to cabinet and dismiss ministers who disagree with their preferred policy
The PM has significant control over the cabinet agenda, steering and summarising decisions as they see fit and without having to call a vote
Many decisions are taken outside cabinet, often in bilateral meetings between the PM and cabinet ministers
The PM’s office has expanded and plays a greater role in directing and coordinating policy across government
The PM can claim a personal mandate from the public and their party

Question 15

What are the arguments that the cabinet is not submissive to the PM?

Answer 15

There are practical limits on the PM’s patronage powers- potential rivals may have strong claims for inclusion in the cabinet
Senior ministers can frustrate the PM’s policy preferences by working together to oppose them or threatening to resign
Ministers with concerns about decisions that affect their department can refer issues to the cabinet as a final court of appeal
Government departments provide ministers with expertise and support
Senior ministers who are popular with the public or their party May gain additional influence

Question 16

What is collective ministerial responsibility?

Answer 16

The principle that ministers must support cabinet decisions or resign from the government

Question 17

What are the three main elements of collective responsibility?

Answer 17

Secrecy- ensures sensitive information doesn’t enter the public domain and prevents differences of opinions from being revealed
Binding decisions- once a decision is reached in the cabinet, it becomes binding on all ministers whether they had opposed it or been directly involved in making the policy
Confidence vote- the government must resign if it’s defeated in a vote of confidence

Question 18

What are the exceptions to collective responsibility

Answer 18

Temporary suspension during referendum
Coalition
Free vote

Question 19

Why may there be a temporary suspension of collective responsibility during a referendum?

Answer 19

To prevent ministerial resignations

Question 20

What is a free vote?

Answer 20

They are granted to ministers as well as Backbenchers on issues of conscience such as assisted dying (2015)

Question 21

When may there be a strain on collective responsibility?

Answer 21

Leaks- disgruntled ministers may leak information on cabinet discussions to the media. They may want dissatisfaction about policy or the conduct of government to be aired, but not go public with their criticism
Dissent and non-resignation- cabinet ministers who oppose important aspects of government policy have survived in office, even when their concerns have been made public
Prime ministerial dominance- some ministers under Thatcher and Blair claimed the PM had undermined collective responsibility by ignoring the cabinet

Question 22

What is individual ministerial responsibility?

Answer 22

Ministers are accountable to Parliament for their own personal conduct, the general conduct of their department and the policies that their department pursue

Question 23

What are ministers not personally responsible for under individual ministerial responsibility?

Answer 23

-decisions made in their department without their knowledge
-operational matters handled by officials in departments or executive agencies

Question 24

What is a ministers duty to parliament under individual ministerial responsibility?

Answer 24

The 1996 Scott Report on the sale of arms to Iraq stated that ministers had a duty to be as open as possible, but ministers were culpable only if they had misled Parliament ‘knowingly’. The ministerial code states that ministers must give ‘accurate and truthful information to parliament’ and those who ‘knowingly misled Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation.’

Question 25

What are the three main categories of resignation on the grounds of individual collective responsibility?

Answer 25

Mistakes made within the department
Policy failure
Personal misconduct

Question 26

Who decides if ministerial authority has been breached?

Answer 26

It’s investigated by an independent authority, but the PM makes the final decision