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1

What is the maximum number of paid government ministers

109

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2

Which civil servants are personally responsible to Parliament?

Accounting Officers and Senior Responsible Owners

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3

What are the main principles that ministers are supposed to follow?

Accounting individually to Parliament for their activities. If they are a Cabinet-level minister they are supposed to be responsible for their whole department.

Providing information to Parliament that is accurate and not misleading.

Observing the principle of collective responsibility.

Protecting the impartiality of the Civil Service and not misusing public resources to achieve party political ends.

Upholding high standards of conduct, including avoiding the possibility of corruption.

To resign if they fail to live up to key principles, especially pertaining to collective responsibility and being truthful with Parliament.

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4

What was the significance of the introduction of the special adviser into UK government?

It was the outcome of dissatisfaction with supposed shortcomings on the part of the of the Civil Service, including:

• Its supposed lack of expertise
• Its inability to provide for the party political requirements of ministers
• Its commitment to policy agendas of its own rather than those of the government of the day

The introduction of the special adviser entailed incorporating into the Civil Service staff chosen by individual ministers who were not subject to the usual limitations on party political attachments. They were never vast in number but received much attention and generated controversy.

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5

Where does pressure for change within government come from, and what are the limitations upon it?

Pressure for change may come from:

• Social developments
• Fighting wars
• Technological change
• Dissatisfaction with aspects of government such as the Civil Service

Limitations may be:

• The willingness of ministers to drive through change
• Resistance from among permanent civil servants
• The ideas being poorly conceived
• Ethical concerns, such as those regarding AI

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6

Where does power lie within the UK government?

The Cabinet is the supreme decision-making institution.

The Prime Minister is an important figure, in some accounts dominant within government.

Ministers have individual responsibility.

Civil servants are required loyally to support ministers. However, they are required to give honest advice to ministers and bring difficult information to their attention. In this sense they can influence outcomes. In practice, they might be able to resist the initiatives of ministers and impose their own agendas.

The core executive model of resource-based power processes could offer a model for understanding power.

The government is also subject to outside forces such as Parliament, public opinion, economic realities, international tendencies, and unexpected events.