2.The Executive and Administration

The historical decline of the monarch as the center of executive power was accompanied by the rise of ministers to a position of ultimate executive authority.The most important group of ministers，the cabinet，has been transformed from its 18th century origins as a group of advisers to the monarch into the focal point of the modern executive.The cabinet was not established by law，but by constitutional convention.It was headed by the Prime Minister who is another creation not of law.Now the cabinet usually has around 20members.All of them are appointed by the Crown on the advice of the Prime Minister.A Prime Minister is limited in his choice of a cabinet by practical considerations.He must include representatives of important sections of party opinion as well as competent administrators.He is also limited by the conventional rule that ministers must be members of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords.There is also a longstanding tradition that senior cabinet ministers should be in the Commons，and so answerable to the elected representatives of the people.

The outstanding feature of cabinet government is the doctrine of collective responsibility.While every minister is individually responsible to parliament for his own decisions and the conduct of his own department，the cabinet is collectively responsible for its decisions.A member who cannot accept a cabinet decision should resign，and if the government is defeated in the Commons on the issue，either the whole cabinet resigns，or the Prime Minister asks the Queen to dissolve the House of Commons to hold the general election before the set time.

British central government consists of some 25departments，each headed by a minister.The departments are staffed by permanent civil servants，who possess no legal or political authority distinct from that of the minister.In addition，government machinery includes a variety of administrative bodies and agencies with varying degrees of ministerial supervision，some possessing independent legal powers.

Most of the work of the government is actually done by the civil servants who are responsible for the implementation of government policies，for the administration of the major and minor government departments，and for duties connected with organizations in the public sector.In running departments，advising ministers on the administration of policy，ensuring that statutory duties are fulfilled，and reacting to the changes introduced by newly elected government，the civil service performs an extraordinary variety of tasks.The Prime Minister is the head of civil service.Since World WarⅡ，the civil service has adapted to the expansion of the government’s responsibilities in a number of fields.It now operates as a disciplined body.A civil servant should be politically neutral and confidential.The recruitment of all permanent civil servants was formerly controlled by the Civil Service Department.Now the Cabinet Office’s Management and Personnel Office，which replaced the Civil Service Department in 1982，deals with overall management，training，and organization，while the Treasury is responsible for manpower.