Summary UK politics & government: ministerial responsibility
12 views 0 purchase
Course
Unit 2 - Governing the UK
Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)
detailed notes on the area of the specification that covers individual & collective ministerial responsibility. this is for the Edexcel spec for paper 2 but can also be useful for AQA paper 1.
individual ministerial responsibility –
The principle that ministers of the cabinet take ultimate
responsibility for what occurs within their department, including
both administrative & policy failures. They are also individually
responsible to the PM for their personal conduct.
Ministerial Code of Conduct:
- 1:1 Ministers are to ‘maintain high standards of behaviour &
behave in a way that upholds the highest standards of propriety’.
- 1:2 ‘Harassing, bullying or other inappropriate or discriminating
behaviour… will not be tolerated’.
- 1:3 ‘Ministers have a duty to parliament to account, and to be
held to account, for the policies, decisions and actions of their
departments and agencies’.
- 1:3 ‘it is of paramount importance that ministers give accurate
and truthful information to parliament… ministers who knowingly
mislead parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to
the PM’.
- 1:6 ‘Ministers only remain in office for so long as they retain the
confidence of the PM’.
Administrative failure –
1954 – Sir Thomas Dugdale resigned as minister of agriculture over
Crichel Down affair, when his dept failed to return land to its rightful
owner after it had been compulsorily bought for a bombing range
before WWII. Although his civil servants were mostly at fault, he
resigned saying that he must accept responsibility for mistakes and
inefficiencies in his dept.
Policy failure –
2002 – Blair’s education secretary, Estelle Morris, was caught in a
crisis over who should take responsibility for a scandal involving
inappropriate a-level grade fixing. She took full responsibility &
resigned.
However, numerous occasions where ministers held on to office
despite intense media & parliamentary criticism of their depts. –
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller zahrayousaf. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $6.59. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
