Public 4: Responsible Government, PM, Cabinet and Collective Responsibility

Privy Council

Advises the monarch on the exercise of the royal prerogative

Cabinet Office

Supports the PM, Cabinet and ensures Civil Service helps government

Miller v Prime Minister

PM's request to Queen to prorogue Parliament was unlawful

Cabinet

Group of ministers some presiding over departments and exists as a matter of convention

Cabinet Committees

Appointed by the PM to deal with parliamentary and governmental business. They have the authority of cabinet decisions.

Collective Ministerial Responsibility

Principle by which ministers must support Cabinet decisions or leave the Executive.

3 Components to Collective Ministerial Responsibility

Confidentiality, Unanimity, Confidence

Attorney-General v Jonathan Cape

Duty on Ministers not to disclose confidential matters discussed in cabinet

Unanimity

All ministers should publicly agree with government policy, if they are unable they should resign

Individual Ministerial Responsibility

Ministers are responsible, and will be held accountable, for their own, and their department's, conduct

Maxwell Fyfe Guidelines

Distinguishes between situation where a Minister has personal involvement and knowledge of the problem and those where they played no role

Policy/ Operation Divide

Differentiates between minister's responsibility for policy matters and operational matters

Ministerial Code para 1.3 b and c

Minister has the duty to parliament to account and be held to account

Principles of Ministerial Code

Selflessness, Integrity, Objectivity, Accountability, Openness, Honesty and Leadership

Ministerial Code Application

Applies to Government Ministers (in full), parliamentary private secretaries (some parts) and special advisors (some parts)

Examples of Breach

Esther McVey, Priti Patel, Michael Fallon

Civil Service

the permanent professional branches of a government's administration

3 Constitutional Principles of Civil Service

Permanence, Political Neutrality and Anonymity

Basic structure of Civil Service

Secretary of State, Special Advisers and Permanent Secretaries, Senior Responsible Owners, Civil Servants

Accounting Officers

Forms the foundation of Parliament's ability to hold the executive to account for public spending

Senior Responsible Owners

Civil servants responsible for the delivery of major government projects

Core Values of the Civil Service

Integrity, Honesty, Objectivity, Impartiality