Cabinet Office written statement – made at on 27 April 2006.
Jim Murphy
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The 2005 fast-stream recruitment report was published on-line at http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk today. It summarises the results of the civil service fast-stream recruitment competitions completed in the year ending November 2005, and also describes some significant developments in the fast-stream selection process during the same period.
Entry into the fast-stream remains highly attractive and competitive. Key facts and figures from the report are as follows.
All vacancies in the graduate fast-stream scheme, and 94 per cent. of fast-stream vacancies overall, were filled.
The proportion of successful female candidates rose to 43.7 per cent., improving slightly from 41.5 per cent. in 2004.
The proportion of successful candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds rose to 7.1 per cent., from 5.4 per cent. in 2004.
The proportion of applicants with a declared disability fell slightly to 2.5 per cent., from 3.2 per cent. in 2004.
The fast-stream selection process itself is subject to continuous review, and the results are monitored in detail to ensure no adverse impact on any particular groups of applicants. We shall continue to work to improve fast-stream recruitment from the point of view of both applicants and employing departments.
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.
