What do government ministers do?
The nutshell
A government minister is a politician chosen by the Prime Minister to run one part of the government. Each minister takes charge of an area such as health, schools or defence, and answers to Parliament for the work.
Every fact on this page comes from official guides to government and non-partisan explainers. Each source tag — like GOV — opens where a fact comes from.
The basics
What a minister is
A minister is a politician who helps run the government. The Prime Minister picks each minister from the MPs and members of the House of Lords.GOV A government usually has more than one hundred ministers in total.
What a minister does
Each minister takes charge of one area of government work. The most senior ministers are called secretaries of state. A secretary of state leads a wholedepartment — a large team that handles one subject, such as health, schools or defence — approves the big decisions, and shapes new policy.IfG Below the secretaries of state are junior ministers, who take on smaller parts of the same work.IfG
The Cabinet
The most senior ministers form the Cabinet, the group that makes the government's biggest decisions.HoC The Cabinet meets each week while Parliament is sitting.GOV Around twenty ministers sit in the Cabinet, though the government has many more ministers than that.
Answering to Parliament
A minister does not decide alone and then walk away. Government ministers must come to Parliament to answer questions, reply in debates, and explain important decisions.Parl Civil servants — the non-political staff who work in each department — carry out the day-to-day work once a minister has decided.GOV
- A minister does not have to be an MP — some ministers sit in the House of Lords instead (House of Commons Library)
- The Prime Minister decides who becomes a minister, and can move or remove a minister at any time (Institute for Government)
- The most senior ministers, called secretaries of state, each lead a whole government department (Institute for Government)
- A minister is not a civil servant — ministers are politicians who decide, and civil servants do the day-to-day work (GOV.UK)
- Not every minister sits in the Cabinet — only around twenty of the most senior ministers do (House of Commons Library)
- A minister does not run a department alone — a team of civil servants carries out the work (GOV.UK)
The deep end6 min
Ministers, secretaries of state and junior ministers
Apart from the Prime Minister, the most senior ministers are secretaries of state, according to the Institute for Government. A secretary of state leads a government department, approves its key decisions, sets out its policy aims and monitors the progress.IfG Beneath a secretary of state sit two ranks of junior minister: ministers of state and parliamentary secretaries. The work of a junior minister is passed down from the secretary of state.IfG
Where ministers come from
By convention, a minister is an MP or a member of the House of Lords, the House of Commons Library records.HoC Ministers are formally appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister.IfG The Prime Minister decides who becomes a minister and can move or remove a minister at any time. GOV.UK lists more than one hundred ministers across the government at once.GOV
The Cabinet and the biggest decisions
The most senior ministers form the Cabinet, the government's core decision-making body, according to the House of Commons Library.HoC Secretaries of state from the departments, along with some other ministers, meet as the Cabinet each week while Parliament is sitting, GOV.UK explains.GOV Only around twenty ministers take a seat at the Cabinet, though a government has many more ministers than that.
Ministers and civil servants — who does what
A minister is not a civil servant. Ministers are politicians who set the direction and make the decisions. Civil servants are the permanent, non-political staff who carry out the practical and administrative work of government, GOV.UK explains.GOV A minister answers to Parliament for what a department does. Government ministers must come to Parliament to answer questions, respond in debates, and keep both Houses informed of important decisions, UK Parliament states.Parl