Responsibility and the Role of the Cabinet and Prime Minister
Q:
- What is Collective Ministerial Responsibility? (5)
- Define Individual Ministerial Responsibility. (5)
- What is the role of the Prime Minister? (10)
- Outline the role of the Cabinet. (10)
A:
- Collective ministerial responsibility refers to the duty of ministers to agree, at least in public, on the policies of the government. Ministers unable to conform to this would be expected to resign their position. A second feature of the collective ministerial responsibility refers to the whole government being accountable for its actions and a readiness for it to resign and submit to a General Election if defeated in a vote of non-confidence in the House of Commons.