Ministerial Responsibility

Question 1

What are the responsibilities of a minister?

Answer 1

• leads their department
• leads policy
• collective and individual ministerial responsibility
• representing departmental interest
• fighting for their cabinet at cabinet meetings

Question 2

What does individual ministerial responsibility mean?

Answer 2

• the minister is responsible for their department
• in theory they must ‘carry the can’ if anything goes wrong even if it is not directly their fault
• if they fail to achieve the standard they must resign

Question 3

How did Sir Thomas Dugdale use individual ministerial responsibility?

Answer 3

• he was the Minister of Agriculture
• his department was criticised for mishandling the compulsory purchase and re letting of 725 acres of farmland in Dorset
• clear evidence of civil service mistakes and inefficiency
• he took the blame and resigned

Question 4

When should a minister resign?

Answer 4

• policy failings
• personal misconduct
• failings in cabinet
• allegations against a minister

Question 5

Examples of ministers who resigned after policy failings

Answer 5

• Kwasi Kwarteng and mini budget
• Amber Rudd and Windrush Scandal

Question 6

Examples of minister who resigned after personal misconduct

Answer 6

• Matt Hancock after breaching covid rules in scandalous affair
• Suella Braverman after breaching ministerial code by sending an official document from her personal email to fellow MP

Question 7

What does collective ministerial responsibility mean?

Answer 7

• all members of government are responsible as a group
• cabinet is supposed to be a united body

Question 8

What ideas uphold collective ministerial responsibility?

Answer 8

• secrecy - ministers must keep discussion in cabinet secret
• binding decisions - once a decision is made all members are binded by it regardless of whether they agree or not
• confidence vote - entire government must resign if defeated in a vote of no confidence

Question 9

Give an example of a minister who was unwilling to accept collective ministerial responsibility

Answer 9

Iain Duncan Smith
Work and Pensions secretary
resigned because he though welfare budget cuts were a ‘compromise too far’

Question 10

How has CMR been eroded?

Answer 10

• during coalitions
• 2016 EU Referendum

Question 11

Why can CMR be temporarily suspended?

Answer 11

on occasions PM may be able to suspend CR if they so choose to ensure there isn’t a mass resignation of ministers if many disagree with a policy for example 2016 Cameron EU referendum

Question 12

How is CMR strained by coalitions? Give example.

Answer 12

during a coalition cabinet are able to disagree over certain issues due to different manifestos

Question 13

Give an example of CMR being restricted under 2010-2015 Coalition

Answer 13

Cameron was able to campaign against AV in 2011 calling it ‘undemocratic’

Question 14

What does an open government mean?

Answer 14

citizens having the right to access documents and proceeding of the government
a direct democracy

Question 15

What feature of the executive makes the principle of ‘open government’ unfeasible?

Answer 15

collective ministerial responsibility

Question 16

What are the limitations of collective responsibility?

Answer 16

• some ministers need to lie and keep their true beliefs to themselves
• open government not possible as they are sworn to secrecy

Question 17

What are the strengths of collective responsibility?

Answer 17

• keeps cabinet a united body
• national security, defence and confidentiality