Ministers of State and Junior Ministers
Ministers of State usually work with ministers in charge of departments. They normally have specific responsibilities, and are sometimes given titles which reflect these functions. More than one may work in a department. A Minister of State may be given a seat in the Cabinet and be paid accordingly.
Junior Ministers - generally Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State or, where the senior minister is not a Secretary of State, simply Parliamentary Secretaries - share in parliamentary and departmental duties. They may also be given responsibilitiy, directly under the departmental minister, for specific aspects of the department's work.
Exercises
1. Read the text and complete these sentences:
1) Most ministers are members of the Commons, although…
2) The composition of governments can vary both in the number of ministers and…
3) The Prime Minister is also, by tradition, First Lord of the Treasury and …
4) By modern convention, the Prime Minsiter always …
5) The Prime Minister also makes recommendations for …
6) The Prime Minister's Office at 10 Downing Street has a staff of civil servants who …
7) Ministers in charge of government departments in the Cabinet are known as …
8) From time to time Ministers without Portfolio may have …
9) The Lord Chancellor holds a special position, as both a minister with departmental functions and …
10) Parliamentary Under-Secretaries may also be given responsibility for ….
Speak about these appointments and their responsibilities. Translate the names of the titles into Russian.
the Lord Chief Justice
Privy Counselours
Lord-Lieutenants
Poet Laureate
Constable of the Tower
the Chancellor of the Exchequer
the Lord President of the Council
the Lord Privy Seal
the Paymaster General
Law Officers of the Crown
Ministers of State
Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State
3. What is the difference between Ministers of State, Junior Ministers and Non-Departmental Ministers?
Reading for vocabulary 3.8.
The Cabinet
Before you read. Think over the following questions:
- Do you know how the Cabinet work? How do the members of the
Cabinet cope with the workload of their everyday duties?
-What do you know about Her Majesty’s Privy Council and Privy
Counselours?
Read the following text.
The Cabinet is the committee at the centre of the British political system and is the supreme decision-making body in government. The functions of the Cabinet are to initiate and decide on policy, the supreme control of government and the co-ordination of government departments. The exercise of these functions is vitally affected by the fact that the Cabinet is a group of party representatives, depending upon majority support in the House of Commons.
Every Thursday during Parliament, Secretaries of State from all departments as well as other ministers - meet in the Cabinet room in Downing Street to discuss the big issues of the day. The Prime Minister chairs the meetings, selects its members, and also recommends their appointment as ministers by the Monarch.
The present cabinet has 23 members (21 MPs and two peers), but a further three ministers attend the meetings, two peers and one MP. The Secretary of the Cabinet is responsible for preparing records of its discussions and decisions.
To keep the Cabinet’s workload within manageable limits, a great deal of work is carried on through the committee system. This involves referring issues either to a standing Cabinet committee or to an ad hoc committee composed of the ministers directly concerned.
The Cabinet Office is headed by the Secretary of the Cabinet, a civil servant who is also Head of the Home Civil Service, under the direction of the Prime Minister. It comprises the Cabinet Secretariat and the Office of Public Service and Science (OPSS). The Cabinet Secretariat serves ministers collectively in the conduct of Cabinet business, and in the co-ordination of policy at the highest level.
The doctrine of collective responsibility means that the Cabinet acts unanimously even when Cabinet ministers do not all agree on a subject. The policy of departmental ministers must be consistent with the policy of the Government as a whole. Once the Government's policy on a matter has been decided, each minister is expected to support it or resign. The individual responsibilityof ministers for the work of their departments means that they are answerable to Parliament for all their departments' activities. They bear the consequences of any failure in administration, any injustice to an individual or any aspect of policy which may be criticised in Parliament, whether personally responsible or not. Since most ministers are members of the House of Commons, they must answer questions and defend themselves against criticism in person. Departmental ministers in the House of Lords are represented in the Commons by someone qualified to speak on their behalf, usually a junior.
The Privy Council
The main function of the Privy Council is to advise the Queen on the approval of Orders in Council, including those made under prerogative powers, and those made under statutory powers. Responsibility for each Order, however, rests with the minister responsible for the policy concerned, regardless of whether he or she is present at the meeting where approval is given.
The Privy Council also advises the Sovereign on the issue of royal proclamations, such as those summoning or dissolving Parliament.
Membership of the Council, which is retained for life, except for very occasional removals, is granted by the Sovereign, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, to people eminent in public life in Britain and the independent monarchies of the Commonwealth. Cabinet ministers must be Privy Counsellors and, if not already members, are admitted to membership before taking their oath of office at a meeting of the Council. There are about 400 Privy Counsellors.
Exercises
1. Find equivalents of the following:
Тайный совет; дать клятву; распустить Парламент; палата Лордов; палата Общин; созывать Парламент; министр (брит.); постоянный комитет; законодательный орган; председательствовать; специальный комитет; представитель партии; кабинет министров; полномочия, предоставляемые законом; единогласно; поддержка большинства; уходить в отставку; член тайного совета; быть ответственным за; назначать на должность; пэр; член парламента; преимущественные полномочия; даровать (титул, звание)
2. Give as many synonyms as you can:
MP; to take oath; to summon; the House of Lords; the House of Commons; decision-making body; to grant; Downing Street; to chair; secretary; to resign; to be answerable to; party representative; to appoint
Translate into English
1. В Великобритании понятия правительства и кабинета не совпадают: термин "правительство" означает совокупность всех глав центральных исполнительных ведомств, в то время как кабинет представляет собой более узкую коллегию, основной орган, ответственный за принятие решений. 2. Все основные проблемы обсуждаюися кабинетом. На заседаниях председательствует премьер-министр, в обязанности которого также входит назначение министров на пост. 3. Тайный совет, coвещательный орган при британском монархе, когда-то являлся главным элементом в структуре исполнительной власти, но теперь служит в основном для придания юридической силы королевским указам в совете. 4. Каждый министр, являющийся членом тайного совета, несет ответственность за все королевские указы в совете, находящиеся в его компетенции, независимо от того, принимал ли он участие в их обсуждении. 5. Если член кабинета не согласен поддержать политику правительства по тому или иному вопросу, он должен подать в отставку. 6. работа правительства распределяется с помощью системы постоянных и специальных комитетов, каждый из которых призван решать определенный круг вопросов. 7. Тайный совет обсуждает с монархом и такие вопросы как созыв и роспуск парламента. 8. Одним из необходимых условий проведения своей политики для правительства является поддержка большинства. 9. Весь штат секретариата кабинета отчитывается перед его главой. 10. Членами тайного совета могут становиться не только выдающиеся граждане Великобритании, но и подданные стран Содружества.