Ministerial responsibility | Edexcel A-Level Politics
Updated: 2 days ago
For Specification 9PL0
Edexcel A-Level Politics | Free Revision Notes
Estimated study time:Â 45 minutes
Ministerial responsibility A-Level Politics revision focuses on two important conventions governing the behaviour and accountability of UK ministers: individual ministerial responsibility and collective ministerial responsibility. You need to understand exactly what each principle requires, how each affects ministers and government, and why their effectiveness can vary in practice. This builds directly on your understanding of the structure of government [Structure, role and powers of the Executive] and prepares you for examining the balance of power between the Prime Minister and senior ministers [The Prime Minister and Cabinet].
Learning Objectives 🎯
By the end of this revision page, you should be able to:
Define individual ministerial responsibility accurately.
Explain how individual ministerial responsibility creates accountability for personal conduct and government departments.
Define collective ministerial responsibility accurately.
Explain how collective responsibility requires ministers to support Cabinet decisions or leave the Executive.
Compare the purposes and operation of individual and collective ministerial responsibility.
Evaluate how significant both conventions remain within UK government.
Revision Notes đź“š
Ministerial responsibility A-Level Politics revision overview
The Edexcel specification requires you to understand two distinct principles:
individual ministerial responsibility
collective ministerial responsibility
Both concern the responsibilities of government ministers, but they operate differently.
At its simplest:
Individual responsibility asks: What is this particular minister responsible for?
Collective responsibility asks: What responsibilities do ministers share as members of the government?
The distinction is essential. Examiners have specifically identified confusion between the two concepts as a weakness in student responses.
Individual ministerial responsibility
Individual ministerial responsibility (IMR)Â is the principle that ministers are responsible for:
their personal conduct
their government departments
This is the definition given in the Edexcel specification glossary.
Individual responsibility therefore has two main dimensions.
Dimension | What the minister is responsible for |
Personal responsibility | Their own behaviour and conduct. |
Departmental responsibility | The work and actions of the government department for which they are responsible. |
These should be learned together because examination questions may require you to assess whether individual responsibility remains important overall.
Individual responsibility for departments
Government departments carry out policy and administer important areas of government. Under individual ministerial responsibility, the minister responsible for a department is answerable to Parliament for its activities.
The 2022 Edexcel mark scheme identifies several ways through which this accountability can operate, including:
ministerial questions
urgent questions
select committees
These mechanisms connect ministerial responsibility directly to Parliament's wider scrutiny role, which you study in ministerial questions and select committees [Select committees, opposition and ministerial questions].
A minister may therefore have to explain and defend what their department has done, respond to criticism and accept political responsibility for departmental problems.
Responsibility does not only mean resignation
A major misconception is that individual ministerial responsibility simply means:
something goes wrong → minister resigns
That is too simplistic.
The convention is fundamentally about responsibility and accountability. Ministers are expected to answer for their departments. Resignation may be one possible consequence when responsibility is considered sufficiently serious, but whether a minister actually leaves office is not the only measure of whether individual responsibility operates.
This distinction matters enormously in essays.
The 2022 examiner report specifically warned that simply producing a list of ministers who did or did not resign demonstrates knowledge but does not necessarily create strong analysis or evaluation.
Departmental failures and responsibility
The 2022 mark scheme states that individual responsibility means ministers are answerable to Parliament for the activities of their departments.
It identifies responsibility for matters including:
failures in administration
injustice to individuals
aspects of departmental policy criticised in Parliament
The principle is significant because it establishes a clear connection between a government department and a politically accountable minister.
Civil servants may carry out much of the work within a department, but it is the minister who must face parliamentary scrutiny.
Example: Amber Rudd and Windrush
The 2022 Edexcel mark scheme uses Amber Rudd and the Windrush affair as an example when discussing individual ministerial responsibility.
The significance of the example is not simply that a minister resigned. It can be used to demonstrate the principle that ministers may be held politically responsible for the administration of their departments.
For an essay, develop the example:
The example demonstrates the continuing significance of individual ministerial responsibility because departmental problems can result in substantial parliamentary and political pressure on the minister responsible.
The analytical link is much more valuable than simply remembering a name.
Individual responsibility for personal conduct
Individual ministerial responsibility also means ministers are responsible for their own personal conduct.
The 2022 mark scheme links this part of the convention with maintaining high standards of behaviour in public life.
The basic principle is straightforward:
A minister's conduct matters because they hold public office.
Personal responsibility therefore provides another mechanism through which ministers may be held accountable.
This differs from departmental responsibility because the criticism concerns the minister's own conduct rather than what has happened within their department.
Why personal responsibility is significant
Personal responsibility may contribute to:
accountability of individual ministers
standards within government
political legitimacy
confidence in those holding government office
The 2022 mark scheme therefore treats individual responsibility as significant not merely because ministers might lose office, but because the principle establishes expectations concerning how government ministers should behave.
Is individual ministerial responsibility still significant?
There are strong arguments on both sides.
Arguments that individual responsibility remains significant
1. Ministers remain answerable for their departments
Ministerial questions, urgent questions and select committees allow ministers to be questioned about departmental actions.
This means individual responsibility continues to connect executive government with parliamentary scrutiny.
2. Ministers can still face serious consequences
The possibility of criticism, political pressure or resignation means ministerial responsibility can have practical consequences.
3. It establishes standards of personal behaviour
The principle makes clear that holding ministerial office carries responsibilities concerning personal conduct.
4. It creates identifiable accountability
Without individual responsibility, responsibility for government failure could become difficult to locate. The convention places responsibility on the minister at the head of the relevant department.
These links are especially important when considering whether Parliament can effectively scrutinise the Executive [The Executive and Parliament].
Arguments that individual responsibility may be weaker
The 2022 Edexcel mark scheme also identifies significant limitations.
Ministers do not always resign for departmental failures
A minister can remain in office even where significant criticism has been directed at their department.
This means:
ministerial responsibility does not produce an automatic resignation rule.
The absence of automatic resignation can make the convention appear inconsistent.
Responsibility may be shifted
The mark scheme notes that ministers may seek to shift blame rather than personally accept responsibility for what has happened.
This can weaken the accountability that the convention is intended to provide.
The Prime Minister matters
Whether a minister remains in office may depend significantly upon the Prime Minister's willingness to continue supporting them.
This creates an important link to prime-ministerial control over Cabinet [The Prime Minister and Cabinet].
If a Prime Minister supports a minister under pressure, resignation is less certain. If that support is withdrawn, the minister's position may become much more difficult.
Media pressure matters
The 2022 mark scheme also recognises the importance of media pressure.
This creates an important evaluative issue:
If whether a minister survives depends heavily on the Prime Minister and political pressure rather than a consistently applied rule, individual ministerial responsibility may be less effective as a convention.
The significance of individual responsibility
The most accurate conclusion is therefore not simply that individual responsibility either "works" or "does not work".
Its significance can be divided into two questions:
Does it make ministers answerable?
Does it consistently produce consequences when things go wrong?
The first is easier to defend. Ministers remain expected to account for their departments and their own conduct.
The second is more debatable because resignation and other consequences may be inconsistent.
This distinction can produce much stronger AO3 evaluation.
Collective ministerial responsibility
Collective ministerial responsibility (CMR)Â is the principle that ministers must support Cabinet decisions or leave the Executive.
That is the definition provided in the Edexcel specification.
The convention applies collectively to government ministers rather than to the actions of one individual minister.
Its core principle can be summarised as:
accept the government's agreed position publicly, or resign from government.
The main features of collective responsibility
The 2022 Edexcel mark scheme identifies important features associated with collective responsibility:
unanimity
secrecy
collective accountability
resignation where a minister cannot support government policy
These ideas are closely connected.
Unanimity
Once a government decision has been reached, ministers are normally expected to support it publicly.
This does not necessarily mean that every minister personally agreed with every part of the decision during internal discussions.
It means that once the government has adopted its position, ministers should present a united public position.
This creates the principle of unanimity.
Secrecy
Collective responsibility also depends on the confidentiality of internal government discussions.
The purpose is to allow ministers to debate different ideas before a decision is reached without every internal disagreement becoming a public political dispute.
The 2022 mark scheme argues that this can create space for the frank expression of opposing views and untested ideas within government.
The basic relationship is:
private disagreement → collective decision → public unity
Resignation
If a minister cannot publicly support an agreed government position, collective ministerial responsibility requires them to leave the Executive.
This is one of the clearest differences between individual and collective responsibility.
Under collective responsibility, resignation is connected to a minister's unwillingness or inability to support government policy.
The 2022 mark scheme uses the resignations of David Davis and Boris Johnson over Brexit as examples demonstrating the continuing operation of this principle.
Collective responsibility and Cabinet government
Collective responsibility helps explain why Cabinet decisions matter.
Once a Cabinet decision has been made, ministers are bound by it even if there was disagreement during the decision-making process.
This links directly to the relationship between Cabinet and the Prime Minister in the balance of executive power [The Prime Minister and Cabinet].
Collective responsibility can strengthen government by enabling it to present a coherent position, but it may also strengthen the Prime Minister if the convention is used to limit public dissent from ministers.
Why collective responsibility is significant
Government unity
Collective responsibility allows the government to present an agreed position.
Without this principle, individual ministers could publicly contradict each other over government policy, potentially making it difficult to identify the government's actual position.
Clear leadership
A united public position can allow government to provide clear political leadership.
The 2022 mark scheme specifically links collective responsibility with the perception of strong, united government.
Accountability
The convention also means government decisions are defended collectively.
Ministers cannot normally accept the advantages of remaining members of government while publicly rejecting the government's agreed policies.
Internal debate
Confidentiality can allow ministers to debate different views before reaching a decision.
This means secrecy and unanimity have different purposes:
secrecy protects internal discussion
unanimity governs the public position after a decision has been reached
Collective responsibility can be suspended
Collective responsibility is a convention, and an important feature demonstrated by past governments is that it can be temporarily suspended.
The 2022 Edexcel mark scheme specifically identifies:
the 1975 referendum
the 2016 referendum
certain policies under the 2010 to 2015 Coalition government
as examples where normal collective responsibility was suspended or modified.
This can be interpreted in two very different ways.
Interpretation 1: suspension shows flexibility
One argument is that the ability to suspend collective responsibility demonstrates the convention's adaptability.
Where an issue creates divisions that do not fit normal party or government arrangements, temporary suspension can allow government to continue functioning.
From this perspective:
Flexibility helps preserve collective responsibility because exceptional circumstances can be accommodated without abandoning the convention permanently.
Interpretation 2: suspension shows weakness
The opposing argument is that suspending the convention demonstrates that it is not genuinely binding.
If a Prime Minister can decide that ministers are temporarily free to disagree, then collective responsibility may depend upon political circumstances rather than operating as a fixed rule.
From this perspective:
If collective responsibility only applies when political leaders choose to enforce it, its significance may be weaker than its formal principle suggests.
This is an excellent debate to use in an evaluative essay because the same evidence can support different conclusions.
Public disagreement and leaks
Collective responsibility can also be weakened where ministers:
publicly disagree with government positions
leak information about internal discussions
criticise policy without resigning
The 2022 mark scheme uses conflicts and leaks during Theresa May's government as evidence that both the secrecy and unanimity associated with collective responsibility could be undermined.
This creates a useful distinction:
Collective responsibility in principle | Collective responsibility in practice |
Ministers support agreed policy publicly. | Public disagreements may occur. |
Cabinet discussions remain confidential. | Information may be leaked. |
Ministers unable to support policy leave government. | Ministers may sometimes remain despite visible disagreements. |
Collective responsibility and prime-ministerial power
Collective responsibility may also affect the balance of power within government.
A Prime Minister may use the convention to insist that ministers either:
publicly support the government
resign
This can strengthen prime-ministerial control over Cabinet.
The Edexcel 2023 mark scheme explicitly identifies collective ministerial responsibility as one mechanism through which a Prime Minister may keep ministers in line.
However, this power has limits.
A significant ministerial resignation can itself weaken a Prime Minister by:
revealing major divisions within government
removing a senior political ally
encouraging further criticism or resignations
Collective responsibility therefore does not simply increase prime-ministerial power. It can expose the limits of that power when ministers decide to leave rather than accept the agreed position.
Individual and collective responsibility compared
You must be able to distinguish these conventions confidently.
Individual ministerial responsibility | Collective ministerial responsibility | |
Who is responsible? | An individual minister | Ministers collectively |
Responsible for what? | Personal conduct and their department | Supporting Cabinet decisions |
Main accountability | The minister answers for their conduct and department | Government presents and defends an agreed position |
Possible resignation issue | A minister may face pressure following personal or departmental failures | A minister who cannot support Cabinet decisions should leave the Executive |
Main purpose | Individual accountability | Collective unity and accountability |
Major limitation | Consequences can be inconsistent | Public disagreement, leaks and suspensions can weaken the convention |
Why the distinction matters
A useful test is to ask what caused the problem.
Scenario A
A department is strongly criticised for administrative failures.
This raises individual ministerial responsibility because the issue concerns the minister's responsibility for their department.
Scenario B
A Cabinet minister publicly rejects an agreed government policy but wants to remain in office.
This raises collective ministerial responsibility because the issue concerns support for a Cabinet decision.
Scenario C
A minister is criticised because of their own behaviour.
This raises individual ministerial responsibility because it concerns personal conduct.
Keeping these scenarios separate prevents one of the most common errors identified by examiners.
Assessing the significance of both conventions
The key evaluative question is not simply whether the conventions exist.
You need to assess how significant they are in practice.
Reasons both conventions remain significant
They establish accountability
Individual responsibility gives Parliament an identifiable minister who can be questioned about a department.
Collective responsibility means ministers share responsibility for government decisions.
Together, they create both:
individual accountability
collective accountability
They influence ministerial behaviour
The possibility of criticism or resignation creates an incentive for ministers to consider how their conduct, departments and public statements may affect their position.
They structure government relationships
Collective responsibility establishes expectations about how Cabinet disagreements should be managed, while individual responsibility establishes how ministers relate to their departments and Parliament.
They can still produce resignations
Examples identified by Edexcel demonstrate that resignation remains a possible consequence of both personal or departmental responsibility and disagreement with government policy.
Reasons their significance may be limited
Their enforcement is inconsistent
A key weakness of individual responsibility is that similar political problems do not necessarily produce identical consequences.
Some ministers resign, while others remain in office.
Prime-ministerial judgement matters
The position of a minister may depend heavily on whether the Prime Minister continues to support them.
This can make responsibility appear politically enforced rather than consistently applied.
Collective responsibility can be suspended
The suspensions identified in the mark scheme show that the convention can be altered when political circumstances require it.
Public disagreements and leaks can continue without resignation
Where ministers criticise policy or internal disagreements become public without ministers leaving government, collective responsibility appears weaker.
Overall assessment
Both conventions remain significant because they establish important expectations about accountability, unity and ministerial behaviour.
However, their significance should not be measured solely by counting resignations.
A more sophisticated judgement distinguishes between the principle and its enforcement.
Individual ministerial responsibility remains important because ministers are expected to account for their conduct and departments, but its ability to force resignation can be inconsistent.
Collective ministerial responsibility remains central to the expectation that government speaks with one public voice, but suspensions, leaks and public disagreement demonstrate that its operation is adaptable and sometimes politically dependent.
The strongest judgement is therefore likely to recognise that:
Both conventions remain important as principles governing UK government, but their practical force varies according to political circumstances and the willingness of the Prime Minister and ministers to enforce or observe them.
Key Words 🔑
Key word | Student-friendly definition | How it may be used in an exam |
Individual responsibility | The principle that ministers are responsible for their personal conduct and their departments. | Use when discussing departmental accountability, personal conduct or whether ministers should accept responsibility for failures. |
Collective responsibility | The principle that ministers must support Cabinet decisions or leave the Executive. | Use when discussing government unity, Cabinet disagreements or ministerial resignations over policy. |
Minister | An MP or member of the House of Lords appointed to a government position, usually with specific departmental responsibilities. | Use accurately when explaining who is subject to ministerial responsibility. |
Cabinet | The Prime Minister and senior ministers, most of whom lead a government department. | Use when explaining collective decision making and collective responsibility. |
Executive | The collective group of the Prime Minister, Cabinet and junior ministers, sometimes known as the Government. | Use when explaining what a minister leaves if they cannot support Cabinet decisions. |
Hints from the Examiner Reports đź’ˇ
The 2022 examination included a 30-mark question asking students to evaluate whether individual and collective ministerial responsibility were both still important, making the examiner feedback especially useful for this lesson.
Examiner hint:Â Define both concepts accurately at the beginning of your answer. Strong responses clearly identified the meaning of individual and collective ministerial responsibility before beginning their evaluation.
Examiner hint: Cover both conventions. Students who focused on only one, or blended the two together, limited how far they could progress through the mark levels.
Examiner hint:Â Focus on the exact debate. In the 2022 question, the issue was whether the conventions were still important. Strong answers assessed their importance over time rather than simply explaining what they were.
Examiner hint:Â Do not turn the essay into a list of resignations. The examiner report states that lists of examples could demonstrate strong AO1 knowledge but did not automatically develop AO2 analysis or AO3 evaluation. Explain what each example demonstrates about the effectiveness or significance of the convention.
Examiner hint:Â Comparative evidence is powerful. Stronger responses compared different governments and different periods to assess whether the conventions had become more or less important.
Examiner hint:Â Individual ministerial responsibility applies to ministers, not to all MPs. The examiner report specifically identified confusion on this point.
Examiner hint:Â Build judgements throughout your answer. The strongest responses selected evidence, analysed what it demonstrated and then developed logical conclusions instead of leaving all evaluation until the final paragraph.
Common Mistakes ⚠️
Mistake: Treating individual and collective ministerial responsibility as the same principle
Why this is incorrect: Individual responsibility concerns a minister's personal conduct and department. Collective responsibility concerns the requirement for ministers to support Cabinet decisions or leave the Executive.
How to improve:
Use this memory check:
Individual = me and my department
Collective = our government's decision
Mistake: Saying every departmental failure automatically requires resignation
Why this is incorrect: Individual ministerial responsibility establishes accountability, but resignation does not automatically follow every problem.
How to improve:
Separate the two ideas:
the minister must be answerable
resignation may be a possible consequence
Do not assume the second automatically follows the first.
Mistake: Assuming no resignation means individual responsibility has disappeared
Why this is incorrect: A minister may still be required to answer questions, defend departmental decisions and face parliamentary scrutiny without resigning.
How to improve:
Assess several indicators of responsibility, not resignation alone.
Mistake: Applying individual ministerial responsibility to all MPs
Why this is incorrect: The convention concerns government ministers, not MPs generally. This was specifically identified as an error in the 2022 examiner report.
How to improve: Before using IMR, ask whether the person involved holds ministerial office.
Mistake: Saying collective responsibility means ministers can never disagree
Why this is incorrect: Ministers may disagree during internal discussions. The principle concerns their support for the agreed government position once a collective decision has been reached.
How to improve: Remember the sequence:
private discussion → decision → public support
Mistake: Treating secrecy and unanimity as identical
Why this is incorrect:
They perform different functions.
Secrecy protects internal Cabinet discussions.
Unanimity requires ministers to support the agreed position publicly.
How to improve: Explain them separately before showing how they work together.
Mistake: Assuming suspensions prove collective responsibility no longer matters
Why this is incorrect: Suspension can support two different interpretations. It may show weakness because the convention is not always binding, but it may also demonstrate flexibility that allows government to operate during exceptional political circumstances.
How to improve: Use suspension as evaluative evidence for both sides before reaching a judgement.
Mistake: Listing examples without analysing them
Why this is incorrect: Examiners specifically warned that this produces knowledge-heavy answers rather than developed analysis and evaluation.
How to improve: After every example, add:
This demonstrates that...
Then explain what the evidence shows about the importance, strength or weakness of the convention.
Exam-Style Questions ✍️
Questions
1. Define individual ministerial responsibility.[2 marks]
2. Define collective ministerial responsibility.[2 marks]
3. Explain two ways in which individual ministerial responsibility promotes accountability.[4 marks]
4. Explain why secrecy and unanimity are both important to collective ministerial responsibility.[6 marks]
5. A government minister publicly announces that they cannot support an important decision agreed by Cabinet but intends to remain a minister. Explain which convention is relevant and what the convention requires.[6 marks]
6. A government department faces serious criticism over an administrative failure. Its minister is summoned to Parliament to explain what happened but does not resign. Explain how this situation demonstrates both the operation and possible limitations of individual ministerial responsibility.[8 marks]
7. Explain two reasons why the temporary suspension of collective ministerial responsibility could be interpreted as either strengthening or weakening the convention.[8 marks]
8. Read the source and answer the question that follows.
Source
Supporters of ministerial responsibility argue that the conventions remain essential to accountable government. Individual ministerial responsibility ensures that ministers answer for their personal conduct and the actions of their departments. Ministers can be questioned in Parliament and may face serious political consequences when failures occur. Collective responsibility also creates clear accountability by requiring ministers to support agreed Cabinet decisions or leave government. Confidential discussion allows ministers to debate policy privately before presenting a united position.
However, neither convention always operates consistently. Ministers do not automatically resign when their departments face criticism, and their survival in office may depend upon political circumstances and the support of the Prime Minister. Collective responsibility has also been temporarily suspended and can be weakened when ministers publicly disagree or internal discussions are leaked. The conventions may therefore establish important expectations without always determining what happens in practice.
Using the source, evaluate the view that ministerial responsibility remains an effective means of controlling the behaviour of government ministers.
In your response you must:
compare and contrast the different opinions in the source
examine and debate these views in a balanced way
analyse and evaluate only the information presented in the source
[30 marks]
Answers and Mark Scheme
Question 1
Award up to 2 marks.
A strong definition should explain that individual ministerial responsibility is:
The principle by which ministers are responsible for their personal conduct and their departments.
Question 2
Award up to 2 marks.
A strong definition should explain that collective ministerial responsibility is:
The principle by which ministers must support Cabinet decisions or leave the Executive.
Question 3
Award up to 2 marks for each developed point, to a maximum of 4 marks.
Possible answers include:
Ministers are answerable to Parliament for the activities of their departments.
Ministers may be questioned through mechanisms such as ministerial questions and select committees.
Ministers are responsible for their personal conduct.
The principle establishes that an identifiable political office-holder is accountable for a government department.
Question 4
Award up to 6 marks.
Indicative content:
Secrecy protects confidential internal discussion.
This can allow ministers to express different or opposing views before a decision is reached.
Unanimity requires ministers to support the agreed government position publicly.
Ministers unable to support an agreed position should leave government.
Together, these principles enable internal debate while maintaining a united public government position.
This may strengthen clear leadership and collective accountability.
Question 5
Award up to 6 marks.
Indicative content:
The relevant convention is collective ministerial responsibility.
Ministers are bound by Cabinet decisions.
Once a collective decision has been made, ministers are expected to support it publicly.
A minister who cannot support the decision is expected to leave the Executive.
Wanting to remain in government while publicly rejecting the agreed decision conflicts with the principle.
The scenario therefore tests the unanimity requirement of collective responsibility.
Question 6
Award up to 8 marks.
Indicative content:
Operation of the convention:
The minister is responsible for their department.
Being required to explain the failure to Parliament demonstrates ministerial accountability.
Individual responsibility therefore operates even without resignation.
Possible limitation:
Serious departmental criticism has not resulted in the minister leaving office.
This demonstrates that resignation is not automatic.
The practical consequences of ministerial responsibility may therefore vary.
Its effectiveness should consequently be judged through accountability as well as resignation.
Higher marks require both sides of the scenario to be explained.
Question 7
Award up to 8 marks.
Indicative content:
Suspension may demonstrate strength because:
it shows that the convention is adaptable
exceptional political disagreement can be accommodated
temporary flexibility may allow government to continue functioning without abandoning collective responsibility completely
Suspension may demonstrate weakness because:
it shows that the normal rule is not always binding
application of the convention can depend upon political circumstances
it may suggest that the Prime Minister can determine when collective responsibility applies
The strongest responses should recognise that the same evidence can support competing evaluations.
Question 8
This question assesses:
AO1: 10 marks
AO2: 10 marks
AO3: 10 marks
Arguments supporting the view
Students may develop source points including:
individual responsibility makes ministers answerable for personal conduct
ministers are accountable for their departments
Parliament can question ministers
serious political consequences may follow failures
collective responsibility requires support for Cabinet decisions
ministers unable to support government policy should leave
confidentiality can permit frank internal discussion
public unanimity creates clear government accountability
Arguments challenging the view
Students may develop source points including:
ministers do not automatically resign following departmental failures
consequences may depend on political circumstances
the Prime Minister's support may determine whether a minister remains in office
collective responsibility can be suspended
ministers may publicly disagree
internal Cabinet discussions may be leaked
the conventions may therefore establish expectations without consistently determining behaviour
Analysis
Strong responses should pair naturally competing arguments.
For example:
Individual accountability versus inconsistent consequences
Individual responsibility makes ministers answerable for their departments, but if resignation or other consequences depend heavily on political circumstances, its power to control behaviour may be limited.
Collective unity versus public disagreement
Collective responsibility requires a united government position, but public criticism and leaks may demonstrate that this unity is not always maintained.
Adaptability versus weakness
Suspending collective responsibility may allow the convention to survive unusual political circumstances, but the ability to suspend it may simultaneously demonstrate that it is not consistently binding.
Evaluation
A strong overall judgement might argue that ministerial responsibility remains significant because it continues to establish clear expectations concerning accountability and government unity. However, its effectiveness as a mechanism for controlling behaviour is less certain because enforcement can be inconsistent.
An alternative judgement may argue that flexibility is a strength rather than a weakness because conventions can adapt to political circumstances while continuing to shape ministerial behaviour.
For the highest levels:
define both conventions accurately
address both individual and collective responsibility
compare competing arguments rather than discussing them separately
explain what evidence demonstrates instead of listing examples
make substantiated judgements throughout
maintain a clear line of argument
reach a final conclusion that follows logically from the analysis
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