The Executive Flashcards
Feature of the civil service that means they are not often seen in the public limelight, as ministers will defend the department’s policies in public
Civil Service anonymity
The theory that power within the executive is dispersed across a network of key individuals, offices, departments and agencies, replying on cooperation
Core executive
Feature of the civil service that means that the advice given to ministers is private, and that civil servants must sign the Official Secrets Act
Civil service confidentiality
Term used to refer to meeting of the PM, Deputy PM, Chancellor and Chief Secretary to the Treasury during the 2010-15 coalition government
The Quad
Term used to describe small, informal meetings between the PM and select ministers, advisors and officials
Kitchen cabinet
Where positions of power are awarded based on talent and ability rather that political views or part affiliation- associated with the civil service
Meritocracy
Government department, with over 2000 civil servants, responsible for supporting the PM, deputy PM, cabinet and cabinet committees
Cabinet Office
Term associated with Tony Blair, who was said to prefer to discuss with individual ministers in No10 rather than hold full cabinet meetings
Sofa government
Parts of government departments that carry out executive functions, usually services, with a degree of autonomy from ministers
Executive agencies
The term used when the PM changed the composition of ministers in the cabinet
Cabinet reshuffle
Blanket term used to refer to anyone who holds power within a political system
Political leadership
A system of government where the cabinet is the central collective decision making body of government
Cabinet government
The constitutional principle that civil servants must give advice and expertise that is free from ideological judgement or political views
Civil service neutrality
The idea that the working of government should be made more transparent, and easier for parliament and the public to see and scrutinise
Open government
Convention that ministers must publicly support Cabinet decisions or resign, and that all ministers should resign following a vote of no confidence
Collective responsibility
The power to appoint individuals and dismiss them from important political decisions
Patronage
Senior civil servants and special advisors based at 10 Downing Street who give policy advice and support with communications
Prime Minister’s Office
The most senior civil servant in the country- provides policy advice to the PM and Cabinet
Cabinet Secretary
Feature of the civil service that means that, unlike government ministers, civil servants do not change with a change of government
Civil service permanence
Small groups of cabinet ministers, established by the PM, which meet regularly to discuss a particular policy area and make decisions
Cabinet Committees
State funded organisations that are not controlled by government- perform admin, commercial, regulatory and executive functions
Non-departmental public bodies
The most senior civil servant within a government department, responsible for running the department on a day to day basis
Permanent Under-Secretary of State
Name for the most senior ministers, who discuss and make key decisions, alongside the PM at the very top of the government hierarchy
The Cabinet
Government minister who are junior to secretaries of state and do not usually sit in the cabinet
Minister of State
When a PM is seen as the main spokesperson for the government with their own source of advice and appearance of separate authority
Presidentialism
A system of government where the PM rather than the cabinet dominates policy making and the operation of the government
Prime Ministerial government
A special advisor employed to give positive interpretations of events to the media and promote a positive party image
Spin doctor
Civil service guidelines limiting the evidence they give to select committees, designed to protect their impartiality, anonymity and confidentiality
Osmotherly rules
The constitutional convention that ministers are responsible and will be held accountable for their own and their departments conduct
Individual ministerial responsibility
Government departments that do not have their own minister, and are instead usually headed by a statutory board
Non-ministerial departments
Government ministers who are junior to ministers of state and are not members of the cabinet
Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State
Meetings between two people, usually used to refer to meetings between the PM and a particular government minister
Bilateral meetings
The head of the UK Government who is “primes inter pares” in the Cabinet
Prime Minister
Temporary and partisan appointments made by ministers with the approval of the PM to work alongside, assist and advise them
Special advisors
Theory put forwards that some Prime Ministers seek to put distance between themselves and their party to gain public support
Spatial leadership
Permanent staff, employed by government departments to support ministers with administrative work and provide neutral advice and expertise
Civil servants
Title usually held by Cabinet Ministers in charge of Government Departments
Secretary of State
A term meaning “rule by officials” often used to refer to the civil servants who implement government policy
Bureaucracy
The branch of government responsible for policy making and for implementing the laws passed by the legislative branch
Executive branch
