Structure, role and powers of the Executive

who makes up the executive branch of government

The Prime Minister

the Cabinet

SPADS (special advisers)

Civil servants

who is the head of the executive branch

the prime minister

what is the head of the executive concerned with

the formulation and implementation of policy

what type of government does the UK have

parliamentary government, so all ministers are drawn from Parliament and accountable to it

how does the PM provide political leadership

• The PM provide political leadership within the cabinet system- and the UK as a whole 

  • Chairs to the cabinet

  • Sets cabinet agenda

  • Selects their own cabinet and junior ministers who work in departments under the cabinet members, with specific roles.

  • Is leader of the largest party in the HoC (by convention)

whats the structure of the cabinet

The cabinet is made-up of approx 20-25 senior ministers and is supported by the cabinet office, headed by the cabinet secretary who is the top civil servant

what does the cabinet do

• The cabinet makes decisions on key areas of policy and has collective responsibility. Once decisions are made, all members must defend them or resign.  

• The cabinet is the ultimate decision making body of the executive within the Westminster system of government, in traditional constitutional theory

whats a kitchen cabinet

a kitchen cabinet is where a PMs cabinet consists of their trusted advisers who may be cabinet members but are often non-cabinet trusted personal advisers on their own staff

what main PM’s had a kitchen cabinet

• Thatcher, and especially in that of Blair, it had been reported that many of even all major decision have been made before cabinet meetings 

how is the British PM in a great place of power

the combined effect of the PM’s ability to control cabinet by circumventing effective discussion in cabinet and the executives ability to dominate parliamentary proceedings

whats the main power of the executive

royal prerogative powers

what are royal prerogative powers

the powers that originally sat with the monarch but have now been transferred to the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

what do royal prerogative powers include

• Appointing ministers 

• Granting legal pardons

• signing treaties 

• Declaring war and using armed forces 

• Awarding honours 

• Taking emergency actions in times of crisis

who are governement departments headed by

• Government departments are headed by a senior minister known as a secretary of state. They have responsibility for a broad area e.g. defence, transport, education, health.

who are ministers supported by

• Each minister heading a department is supported by junior ministers, for example, the department of education is headed by secretary of state brigiet philipson 

whats a cabinet government

when executive power is vested in a cabinet whose members exercise collective responsibility, rather than in a single office

what are the functions of the full cabinet

• registering and ratifying decisions taken elsewhere in the cabinet system

• discussing major issues

• reaching or endorsing final decisions on major issues

• receiving reports on important developments

• determining government business in parliament

• settling disputes between government departments

roles of executive

proposing legislation

secondary legislative power

initiation of legislation

roles of executive : proposing legislation

most bills in parliament are public bills which come from the executive

what sets out the governments priorities for a session

the kings state speech

what priories were set out by the kings state speech for this session

• Based upon principle of opportunity, fairness

• Stability cornerstone of economic policy

• All significant tax are subject to independent 

• Pension investment 

• Securing economic growth 

• New partnerships with businesses

• Move on from cost of living 

• Great british energy a publicly owned which will help create energy

• Improve water quality 

• Strong defense base 

• Commitment to NATO

• Nuclear deterrent 

• Full support to Ukraine and its people 

• Gov will play its part in trying to get security in the middle east 

The role of the executive; proposing legislation 

The government had also announced its intention to legislate to implement its other policies and priorities

what other policies and priorities were outlined by the executive

• Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill – A bill to ban the export of live animals.

• Criminal Justice Bill – A bill to reform policing and justice around digital-enabled crime, child sexual abuse and grooming.

• Tobacco and Vapes Bill – A bill to ban smoking for those born after 2008, and prevent the availability of vapes for children.

where do legislative ideas come from

legislative ideas may come from the party manifesto, but they dont have to

the executive may consult with pressure groups, other interest groups or think tanks

The role of the executive; secondary legislative power

• Law made without passing a new Act of Parliament 

• Normally statutory instruments are used to modify existing legislation 

• Can be highly controversial e.g. 2016 abolishing maintenance grants for university students 

• Are seen by some as a way of government avoiding parliamentary scrutiny 

• About ⅔ become law without being directly debated by MPs. 

The role of the executive; initiation of legislation 

• With the majority, the government can be confident of passing the legislation it wants- unless there is a rebellion on the government backbenches 

• Without a majority, life is much hard for the executive as seen from 2017 to 2019

what are the roles of the executive branch

proposing a budget

who sets out the budget

Chancellor of the Exchequer

what does the budget set out

the government details taxation and public spending polices

also sets out how they expect the economy to perform, predict levels of inflation, and predict any changes in government debt.

what did the 2025 budget include

• “mansion tax” – for properties worth more than £2m, of £2,500 a year, rising to £7,500

• abolishes the two-child limit for universal credit and tax credit, costing the Treasury £3bn

• Dairy-based drinks such as milkshakes and canned lattes are being added to the sugar tax

• while the national living wage will go up from £12.21 to £12.71 an hour.

role of the executive: making policy decisions within laws and budget

• The executive plays the key role in setting the direction of the country including things like: welfare reform , scrapping 2 child benefit cap etc

• It is the executive that makes the day-to-day decisions, e.g. deciding on the response to COVID and the road map to ending restrictions.