6. The Executive: Central, Devolved, and Local Government

  • The monarch is the formal head of the executive and the Prime Minister, who is also First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service, advises the monarch on the exercise of all executive powers.
  • The Cabinet deals with all matters concerning the collective responsibility of the government as well as the formulation of government policy and putting it into effect via the parliamentary legislative process.
  • Central government in the UK is organized into departments of state led by Secretaries of State and other ministers whose work is coordinated by the Cabinet.
  • Every Secretary of State and minister, including the Prime Minister, is responsible to Parliament and subject to the jurisdictions of the courts.
Public Bodies Act 2011
  • The Public Bodies Act 2011 empowers ministers to abolish or reform those public bodies listed in its schedules, in order to increase accountability and control costs.
The Civil Service
  • Part 1 Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 removes the Royal Prerogative from the management of the civil service and gives the Minister for the Civil Service (the Prime Minister) statutory authority to manage the civil service. The only exceptions are security vetting and the management of the parts of the Civil Service of the State which are not covered by the provisions in Part 1.
The Ministerial Code
  • The Ministerial Code is a document which sets out rules and standards for government in the UK.
Legal Accountability
  • When a statute places a duty on a minister it may be exercised by a member of his department for whom he accepts responsibility and for whose conduct he is legally accountable.
Devolution
  • The Welsh Assembly Government, the Scottish Government, the Northern Ireland Executive exercise devolved executive powers within the UK.




London: The Mayor and the Greater London Authority

  • Section 1 Greater London Authority Act 1999 creates the Greater London Authority.
  • Section 2 says that the Greater London Authority shall consist of the Mayor of London and an Assembly for London called the London Assembly.

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