Ministers And Government Decisions

Abstract The purpose of this Chapter is to explain the procedural framework within which ministerial and governmental decisions are taken. It begins with a brief historical survey of the system of decision-making in the Cabinet and its committees. It then looks at the general guidance which Ministers receive about methods by which issues should be decided, and then examines more specifically the situations in which Ministers are expected to make up their own minds and act within their departments without troubling Ministers outside the department. The Chapter then analyses in detail the current rules of practice governing decision-making in committees of Ministers, and within the Cabinet itself.