Department for Exiting the European Union written question – answered at on 17 October 2019.
Gloria De Piero
Labour, Ashfield
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the oral contribution of 25 September 2019 from the Prime Minister, Official Report column 791, when he plans to publish the details of the cross-party talks on the UK's exit from the EU.
James Duddridge
Chair, High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) Bill Select Committee (Commons) , Chair, High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) Bill Select Committee (Commons) , The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
The cross-party talks on the UK’s exit from the EU were undertaken by the previous administration. These talks explored aspects of the Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration and sought to reach a compromise, but at the time, this was unsuccessful. The then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, the Rt hon member for Aylesbury, and the hon member for Holborn and St Pancras gave evidence in July to the EU Select Committee on those talks:
We want to get a deal. This is why we have put forward a serious offer to the EU. It is a fair and reasonable compromise for all sides that respects the referendum. This new proposal means we will take back control of our Laws and our borders, protect the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process, and ensures democratic consent for the arrangement.
Yes2 people think so
No1 person thinks not
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The Chancellor - also known as "Chancellor of the Exchequer" is responsible as a Minister for the treasury, and for the country's economy. For Example, the Chancellor set taxes and tax rates. The Chancellor is the only MP allowed to drink Alcohol in the House of Commons; s/he is permitted an alcoholic drink while delivering the budget.
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.
Laws are the rules by which a country is governed. Britain has a long history of law making and the laws of this country can be divided into three types:- 1) Statute Laws are the laws that have been made by Parliament. 2) Case Law is law that has been established from cases tried in the courts - the laws arise from test cases. The result of the test case creates a precedent on which future cases are judged. 3) Common Law is a part of English Law, which has not come from Parliament. It consists of rules of law which have developed from customs or judgements made in courts over hundreds of years. For example until 1861 Parliament had never passed a law saying that murder was an offence. From the earliest times courts had judged that murder was a crime so there was no need to make a law.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
