Part of Cabinet Office – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 14 February 2001.
Dr Mo Mowlam
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Cabinet Office
12:00,
14 February 2001
I certainly recognise what my hon. Friend says—helping young people stay off drugs and giving them support once they have finished treatment is crucial. The best approach to ensuring that that care is provided is to make certain that the partnership that developed during the arrest referral continues afterwards. I hope that system is working in Barnsley; as my hon. Friend pointed out, I heard about it while I was there.
We are also working to encourage young people to stay away from drugs—not just helping with treatment and post-treatment care. I am pleased to announce that an additional £152 million is going into drug education for young people, particularly to identify the most vulnerable and those most at risk so that they can be given special help.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
