1. GP4B GOVERNING MODERN WALES – THE CORE EXECUTIVE THE NATURE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE CABINET Government and Politics As

2. IN THIS SESSION You will: Define the core executive understand fully the nature of the cabinet and its functions. To create an understanding of both collective responsibility and the collegiality of cabinet government.

3. THE CORE EXECUTIVE The core executive is at the heart of governing the UK There is also a core executive that governs Wales in the Welsh Assembly Exercise 1 plot these on the chart In the UK the core executive consists of: The Prime Minister Assisted by his own political office, cabinet, Cabinet Office, private advisers, think-tanks, policy units, the cabinet secretary and his staff. The Deputy Prime Minister Assisted by his own political office and private advisers, his main area of responsibility is on constitutional reform

4. THE CORE EXECUTIVE The Cabinet Assisted by cabinet committees, Cabinet Office, policy units, senior civil service, junior ministers. Cabinet Committees Sub-committees of the cabinet which consider policy in detail and report to full cabinet. ‘Experts’ and external specialists may be called to assist, as may senior civil servants and policy units. Ministers (cabinet and non-cabinet) Assisted by their own political office, senior civil servants, private advisers, policy units.

5. THE CORE EXECUTIVE The Cabinet Office Political advisers and civil servants divided into policy sections and various support functions. Think-tank reports may be used in policy development. Senior civil servants The senior ranks of the civil service who support ministers. Assisted by the rest of the civil service establishment.

6. ORIGINS OF THE BRITISH CABINET Exercise 2 The timeline of the British cabinet’s evolution Draw a timeline from 1660 and chart the evolution of the Cabinet to 1850 The Cabinet is a meeting of senior ministers and heads of government departments. It is formally the key decision-making body in British government.

7. ORIGINS OF THE BRITISH CABINET The cabinet system of government originated in Great Britain. Briefly trace the original development of cabinet as a group of the king’s ministers who advised him and eventually came to govern on his behalf. The cabinet developed from the Privy Council in the 17th and early 18th centuries when that body grew too large to debate affairs of state effectively. The English monarchs Charles II (reigned 1660–85) and Anne (1702–14) began regularly consulting leading members of the Privy Council in order to reach decisions before meeting with the more unwieldy full council.

8. ORIGINS OF THE BRITISH CABINET By the reign of Anne, the weekly, and sometimes daily, meetings of this select committee of leading ministers had become the accepted machinery of executive government, and the Privy Council’s power was in inexorable decline. After George I (1714–27), who spoke little English, ceased to attend meetings with the committee in 1717, the decision-making process within that body, or cabinet, as it was now known, gradually became centred on a chief, or prime, minister. This office began to emerge during the long chief ministry (1721–42) of Sir Robert Walpole and was definitively established by Sir William Pitt later in the century.

9. ORIGINS OF THE BRITISH CABINET The passage of the Reform Bill in 1832 clarified two basic principles of cabinet government: 1.that a cabinet should be composed of members drawn from the party or political faction that holds a majority in the House of Commons 2.that a cabinet’s members are collectively responsible to the Commons for their conduct of the government.

10. ORIGINS OF THE BRITISH CABINET Henceforth no cabinet could maintain itself in power unless it had the support of a majority in the Commons. In the 1840s unity in a political party proved the best way to organize support for a cabinet within the House of Commons, and the party system thus developed along with cabinet government in England. By the 1850s the UK had a modern Cabinet system

11. THE MODERN BRITISH CABINET In Great Britain today, the cabinet consists of about 15 to 25 members, or ministers, They are appointed by the prime minister, who in turn has been appointed by the monarch on the basis of his ability to command a majority of votes in the Commons. Though formerly empowered to select the cabinet, the sovereign is now restricted to the mere formal act of inviting the head of Parliament’s majority party to form a government.

12. THE MODERN BRITISH CABINET The prime minister must put together a cabinet that represents and balances the various factions within his own party (or within a coalition of parties). Cabinet members must all be members of Parliament, as must the prime minister himself. The members of a cabinet head the principal government departments, or ministries, such as Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, and the Exchequer (treasury). Other ministers may serve without portfolio or hold in secure offices and are included in the cabinet on account of the value of their counsel or debating skills.

13. THE MODERN BRITISH CABINET The cabinet does much of its work through committees headed by individual ministers, and its overall functioning is coordinated by the Secretariat, which consists of career civil servants. The cabinet usually meets in the prime minister’s official residence at 10 Downing Street in London.

14. THE MODERN BRITISH CABINET Exercise 3 Complete the phrase The monarch appoints the prime minister and they appoint the cabinet ‘Cabinet’

15. COALITION CABINETS When the coalition Cabinet was established in 2010 the Liberal Democrats were left holding none of the major spending departments such as health, education, justice, work and pensions, and Home Office. They also did not hold any of the four major posts (Prime Minister, Home Secretary, Chancellor or Foreign Secretary) There were 18 Conservatives to five Liberal Democrats in Cabinet and of 59 to 12 junior ministers respectively. There have been no major reshuffles since May 2010, (apart from a minor reshuffle in September 2012). Commentators have also noted the lack of machinery of government changes since the general election. However, the office of the Deputy Prime Minister was subsequently strengthened since 2010 and more special advisers have been appointed. Do you think the Liberal Democrats got a good deal?

16. THE MODERN BRITISH CABINET Cabinet ministers are responsible for their departments, but the cabinet as a whole is accountable to Parliament for its actions, its individual members must be willing and able to publicly defend the cabinet’s policies. Cabinet members can freely disagree with each other within the secrecy of cabinet meetings, once a decision has been reached, however, all are obligated to support the cabinet’s policies, both in the Commons and before the general public.

17. THE MODERN BRITISH CABINET The loss of a vote of confidence or the defeat of a major legislative bill in the Commons can mean a cabinet’s fall from power and the collective resignation of its members. Only rarely are individual ministers disavowed by their colleagues and forced to accept sole responsibility for their policy initiatives; Despite the need for consensus and collective action within a cabinet, ultimate decision-making power rests in the prime minister as the leader of his party. Various other member countries of the Commonwealth, notably India, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, maintain cabinet systems of government that are closely related to that developed in Great Britain.

18. KEY FACTS ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE CABINET It comprises between 20 and 25 of the senior members of the government. The number who can receive a cabinet minister’s salary is limited to 22. Its members are all appointed and may be dismissed or shuffled by the prime minister. It is the central heart of government. It represents the collective strength of government. Most of its members (cabinet ministers) are also heads of government departments.

19. KEY FACTS ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE CABINET It is bound together by collective responsibility — they are collectively responsible for all government decisions and policies. It is chaired and largely controlled by the prime minister. The administration of cabinet is handled by the cabinet secretary, the most senior civil servant and a right-hand man of the prime minister. The cabinet is served by the Cabinet Office, which gives it political advice. Ministers who are not in the cabinet (about 80–90 members) are known as junior or non- cabinet ministers.

20. KEY FACTS ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE CABINET Exercise 4 Cabinet - Facts true or false

21. KEY FACTS ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE CABINET Exercise 4 Cabinet - Facts true or false It comprises between 10 and 20 of the senior members of the government. False between 20 and 25 members Its members are all appointed and may be dismissed or shuffled by the monarch. False they are appointed by the Prime Minister It is the central heart of government. true It represents the collective strength of government. true Half of its members (cabinet ministers) are also heads of government departments. False, most do

22. KEY FACTS ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE CABINET Exercise 4 Cabinet - Facts true or false It is bound together by collective responsibility — they are collectively responsible for all government decisions and policies. True It is chaired and largely controlled by the deputy prime minister. False, by the Prime Minister The administration of cabinet is handled by the home secretary, the most senior civil servant and a right-hand man of the prime minister. False it is by the Cabinet Secretary The cabinet is served by the Cabinet Office, which gives it political advice. True Ministers who are not in the cabinet (about 80–90 members) They are known as Deputy ministers. False they are known as junior or non- cabinet ministers.

23. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE CABINET Exercise 5 Looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the cabinet would it not be better to have no cabinet and just let one man – the prime minister government

24. THE CORE EXECUTIVE Exercise 6 The core executive List the seven layers of the core executive Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Cabinet, Cabinet Committees, Ministers, Cabinet Office, Senior Civil Servants The traditional constitutional view is that executive power in the UK is vested in a cabinet whose members exercise collective responsibility. the traditional picture of cabinet government — that it is the central policy-making body and that its other functions are subordinate But the importance of the cabinet waned in the modern era It now plays only a limited role in decision making, as many key policy decisions are made elsewhere in the executive. The cabinet today has more functions but is in a less central position within the executive.

25. The functions of the cabinet today: To legitimise or approve political decisions made elsewhere — in cabinet committees, by the prime minister, by think-tanks or by individual ministers. To settle disputes that might arise between coalition partners, ministers and which cannot be resolved outside cabinet. To agree the presentation of policy. To arrange the business of Parliament on behalf of the government. THE FUNCTIONS OF THE CABINET

26. The functions of the cabinet today: Occasionally, though not frequently, to deal with emergency or short-term problems. There is a special Cabinet Committee, however, that deals with emergencies called COBRA, short for Cabinet Office Briefing Room A Also occasionally to make key decisions which the prime minister prefers not to lead. Occasionally ‘political cabinets’ are held. These are special meetings when the political consequences and desirability of a decision or policy are considered. They are informal and their outcomes are secret. THE FUNCTIONS OF THE CABINET

27. Exercise 7 – Fill in the blanks concerning the functions of the cabinet Exercise 8 – Undertake the word search, then define what each word means in the context of the Cabinet’s functions THE FUNCTIONS OF THE CABINET

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29. Exercise 9 Do you think the function of the cabinet is significantly affected by coalition government? Exercise 10 Law versus Gove Questions 1.Who is David Laws? 2. What has happened and why is David Laws unhappy? 3.Who is Michael Gove and what party does he come from? 4.What does this study tell us about: Coalition government Ministerial co-operation in the Cabinet? WORD SEARCH ANSWERS

30. Exercise 11 What is the cabinet? Answer: the cabinet is not a policy-making body. It does make some decisions, but not longer-term policy. Government policy is developed elsewhere. WHAT IS THE CABINET?

31. Collective Responsibility has been at the heart of Cabinet Government since the 1850s It is based on the concept of collegiality This means that the cabinet attempts to reach decisions on the basis that all can take responsibility for it whatever their personal opinions or political party may be, ministers therefore have to accept they are part of a collective body and this is what collective responsibility means THE DOCTRINE OF COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY

32. The four conventions of collective responsibility are that: 1.All cabinet decisions must be defended by all ministers (in and out of cabinet). 2.Any minister who wishes to dissent in public must resign his or her ministerial post or face dismissal. 3.Ministers are free to dissent from a policy or decision in private, but must then defend it in public. 4.Ministers who resign because they cannot support a collective cabinet decision are normally considered honourable, and while their political careers may be adversely affected in the short run, they may return to office in the long run. 5.Exercise 12 – Which of these are examples of collective responsibility? THE FOUR CONVENTIONS OF COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY

33. The practical and operational arrangements for how the two Westminster coalition Parties would work together in coalition: how policy would be commissioned and agreed; how appointments would be made and the principles of collective responsibility would be carried out were set out in the document Coalition Agreement for Stability and Reform, which was published in May 2010. THE COALITION AND COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY

34. Section 2.1 The principle of collective responsibility, save where it is explicitly set aside, continues to apply to all Government Ministers. This requires: (a) an appropriate degree of consultation and discussion among Ministers to provide the opportunity for them to express their views frankly as decisions are reached, and to ensure the support of all Ministers; (b) the opinions expressed and advice offered within Government to remain private; (c) decisions of the Cabinet to be binding on and supported by all Ministers; (d) full use being made of the Cabinet Committee system and application of the mechanisms for sharing information and resolving disputes set out in this document. THE COALITION AND COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY

35. Exercise 13 Coalition Cabinet Does the case of David Law V Michael Gove indication that this is still working? Exercise 14 The Secret World of Whitehall – The Cabinet Office Watch the clipthe clip Write down 15 facts about the Cabinet Office, concentrate on the way it relates to the Cabinet THE COALITION AND COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY