Part of 2. 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children – in the Senedd at 2:54 pm on 18 October 2017.
Carl Sargeant
Labour
2:54,
18 October 2017
Well, that’s, again, another long-standing discussion point of this Assembly. I would be quite keen to further debate that with the Member and others to make sure that this is the right thing to do. What concerns me about champions in organisations is that, often, it’s a badge or a title. Actually, what I’m really keen on is making sure that those champions turn their duty into action. We are seeing that in several aspects, and I am encouraged by the Member’s point about the particular council that she raises, with a social justice champion within that organisation. I wish her well.
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.
