Structure And Role Of The Executive Flashcards
(17 cards)
What is the executive?
The executive is the collective group of the Prime Minister, Cabinet and junior ministers. The word executive can be used interchangeably with the word government.
What is the cabinet?
The cabinet is a group of the Prime Minister and their senior ministers, most of whom lead a government department.
What is a minister?
A minister is an MP or member of the HoL that is appointed to a position in the government. They usually exercise specific responsibilities in a department.
What is a government department?
A part of the executive, usually with specific responsibility over an area such as education, health or defence.
What is royal prerogative?
A set of powers and privileges belonging to the monarch but normally exercised by the PM or Cabinet, like granting honours.
What are the three branches of government?
Legislative, Judiciary, Executive
What is the role of the legislature?
What are the 4 main elements of the executive?
- The PM
- The cabinet
- Junior ministers
- Civil service
Describe the cabinet
What are junior minsters? Give some examples.
- Junior ministers are members of the executive that assist the senior ministers in running the government department and assist with policy decisions.
- For example, the education Secretary will often have 3 junior ministers; each one takes responsibility for an aspect of education policy. For example one for early years + primary school education, one for secondary school education and one for university and higher education.
What is the civil service?
- The civil service is made up of permanent officials who carry out the day to day running of government departments.
- Their job is to advise ministers and enact policy decisions.
- They do not MAKE policy decisions, and are expected to act in a neutral fashion - they cannot be members of political parties.
What is the core executive?
The core executive is the part of the government that implements policy. This includes the PM, the cabinet, cabinet committees and office, govt departments and the senior civil service.
- What are SpAds?
- How can SpAds cause controversy?
- Special Advisors are people that are employed as civil servants but have the role of giving political advice to a minister. They are not elected or accountable so cannot be involved in party politics.
- It is the minister that makes the final decision, but if a SpAd appears to be shaping official policy then it can be questioned and cause controversy.
Give 2 examples where SpAds have caused controversy.
- Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy were employed as joint chiefs of staff for Theresa May in 2016.
- They were employed as civil servants but took charge of organising the campaign for the conservatives 2017 GE campaign, even making decisions over party manifesto.
- The pair were forced to resign as a result of the political failure of the 2017 GE. - Dominic Cummings was employed as chief of staff by Boris Johnson.
- He led his election campaign in 2019, and seemed to be making policy decisions rather than offering neutral advice to the PM.
- He was forced to resign in 2020.
What is the structure of the executive?
The PM, The cabinet, the treasury, government departments.
What is the role of:
1. The PM
2. The cabinet
3. The treasury
4. The government departments.
- The PM is the chief policy maker and chief executive.
- The cabinet approves policy and settles disputes within government.
- The treasury manages the governments finances.
- The government departments develop and implement specialised policies.
What is the chief of staff?
The chief of staff is the UK prime minister’s most senior political advisor.
