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Cabinet of New England
The Cabinet of New England is a major organ of the executive government responsible for making important decisions in the administration of the government. All senior ministers of the government are members of the Cabinet, with the current cabinet consisting of sixteen members, each occupying a portfolio of responsibilities. The Cabinet is appointed by the King, on the advice of the First Minister, and serves at his pleasure. Not all ministers are members of the Cabinet, with the junior Associate Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries reporting directly to a Minister of State.
The Cabinet form of government can be traced back to Britain, and was inherited by New England when it became independent in 2012. Like it's predecessors, the Cabinet meets privately once a week to discuss vital issues and formulate policy. Legally, the Cabinet has no constitutional power, with all authority vested in the Executive Council, which is chaired by the King, and meets solely to endorse and give legal force to decisions already made by the Cabinet.
Functions & Powers
The Cabinet arguably has the most power of any body in New England's system of government. The Cabinet has almost complete control over the legislative agenda of the government, and makes the decisions about what matters will be debated on the government's time. However, because the government often lacks a majority of seats in the House of Assembly, a significant proportion of bills originate with individual members of parliament, giving Parliament far more power than might overwise be seen in this system of government.
The Cabinet takes many of the most important debates on government policy take place. All Cabinet meetings are private and the minutes of these meetings are kept confidential for thirty years. Decisions made in cabinet must be unanimous, although dissent over a particular issue is common enough, and encourages better outcomes from the submissions put. Once a decision is made by the Cabinet, it's members must all publicly support it. Public dissent by a minister obliges him to resign or be dismissed by the First Minister.
Composition
For the list of members to the current cabinet, see the Jones Ministry.
The cabinet currently comprises sixteen executive ministers, appointed by the King on the advise of the First Minister. Each minister is responsible for a ministerial portfolio consisting of several government departments, and must advise the Monarch and First Minister on any political matter relating to his ministry. Additional members may be appointed as "ministers without portfolio", which is a seldom used devise to appoint members to the cabinet that do not oversee a ministry. The current portfolios and their ministries are as follows:
- First Minister of New England -- Office of the First Minister and Cabinet
- Minister of State for the Treasury -- The Treasury
- Minister of State for External Affairs -- Ministry of External Affairs
- Attorney-General -- Ministry of Justice
- Minister of State for Home Affairs -- Ministry of Home Affairs
- Minister of State for Defence -- Ministry of Defence
- Minister of State for Health -- Ministry of Health
- Minister of State for Education -- Ministry of Education
- Minister of State for Labour -- Ministry of Labour
- Minister of State for Trade and Industry -- Ministry of Trade and Industry
- Minister of State for Transport -- Ministry of Transport
- Postmaster-General -- Ministry of Communications
- Minister of State for Primary Industry -- Ministry of Primary Industry
- Minister of State for Conservation -- Ministry of Conservation
- Minister of State for Utility Services -- Ministry of Utility Services
- Minister of State for Works and Planning -- Ministry of Works and Planning
