The main aspects of the role cabinet

The main aspects of the role of the cabinet include:

• Formal policy approval
• Policy coordination
• Resolve disputes
• Forum for debate
• Party management
• Symbol of collective govt.

A role of the cabinet is to formally approve policy:

• The cabinet must approve the policy decisions, for them to become official govt policy. 
• However, there is no guarantee that major policy decisions will not be made by the PM, without consulting the Cabinet. 
• E.g. In May 1997, Tony Blair decided to grant the Bank of England semi-independence in setting interest rates, with only consulting with Brown (the Chancellor). 

Another role of the cabinet is policy coordination:

• This is a key role, which ensures that ministers are aware of the goings on in other departments. 
• It helps to reconcile the responsibilities of ministers for their individual departments, with their responsibilities to the govt as a whole.
• As a result, it helps to 'join up' govt at its most senior level. 

A role of the cabinet is to resolve disputes:

• Differences between ministers and between departments are mostly resolved at a lower level. 
• However, the cabinet serves as a final court of appeal for disagreements, that cannot be resolved elsewhere. 

In addition, the cabinet is a forum for debate:

• The PM and other ministers can use the cabinet as a sounding board. 
• They do this by raising issues and to stimulate discussion. 
• Nevertheless, the time available for this is limited.
• This is because cabinet agendas are full and are usually dominated by govt business.

Another role of the cabinet is party management:

• This is where the cabinet takes the views and morals of the parliamentary party, into account, when it comes to policy.
• This is the reason why the chief whip (currently Michael Gove) attend cabinet meetings, and is usually a full cabinet member. 

The Cabinet is a symbol of collective government:

• The collective 'face' of govt is maintained by regular cabinet meetings.
• This is because the PM reports in these meetings, and the approval of major policies takes place here. 
• This is underpinned by the convention of collective ministerial responsibility.