Role of the Cabinet

Political Studies: Edexcel A Level, topic 10.3.4

The Cabinet’s roles include making policy, coordinating government work, limiting the Prime Minister’s power and responding to national emergencies.

The Cabinet reaches final decisions over government policy. Government members have to endorse policies in cabinet meetings and reach an agreement.
The Cabinet is needed to legitimise and ratify the prime minister and government’s policies.
Smaller Cabinet committees of fewer Cabinet ministers carry out a large amount of cabinet work and make recommendations which the full cabinet must approve to become government policy.

The Cabinet coordinates the government’s programme of legislation through parliament and prioritises legislation.
It helps decide when major legislation should be introduced to Parliament.
The Cabinet organises the weekly agenda in parliament, including addressing backbenchers’ problems and which ministers are due to speak in parliamentary debates.

If the Prime Minister loses the support of the Cabinet, they may lose authority and risk resignation or removal.
In 2022, Liz Truss lost Cabinet support after economic turmoil and resigned shortly afterwards.

Cabinets must deal with emergencies and national crises by making quick decisions to address them.
Cabinet deals with domestic emergencies through the COBR (Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms) meeting.
The COBR meetings involve cabinet members coordinating the government’s response to cases of national crisis and emergency.
A COBR meeting was called following the suspected Russian poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury.
COBR was also used during the COVID-19.

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