Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 13 June 2018.
Linda Fabiani
Scottish National Party
I thank the Scottish Government for the positive way that it engaged in the project. Will the Cabinet secretary look very carefully at the findings in the report of the young women lead committee, some of which are shocking? Does he recognise that we still have a big issue with sexual harassment in schools, which has been exacerbated by the use of social media? Will he respond in full to the report?
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.
