In the cabinet system of government, individual responsibility of ministers means that ____________

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks about individual ministerial responsibility in a cabinet (parliamentary) system. It is a Government concept, so we need to recall what the term means in practice.

Step 2: The concept In a cabinet system there are two kinds of ministerial responsibility:

1. Collective responsibility: the whole cabinet is bound by every decision. If the government loses the confidence of the legislature, all ministers resign together.
2. Individual responsibility: each minister is answerable for the affairs of his or her own ministry. If the minister makes a serious error, or officials in the ministry do, the minister must account to parliament and may be forced to resign or be dismissed.

Step 3: Test each option

• A. Only ministers can be held responsible for errors. Wrong. The statement is too absolute, and it ignores the cabinet's collective responsibility and the accountability of civil servants.
• B. A minister must hold his subordinates responsible for his failures. Wrong. This is the opposite of the principle. The minister takes responsibility for the ministry's failures and does not pass the blame down.
• C. The prime minister can remove an erring minister. This is the closest match. Because each minister is individually answerable for their performance, an erring minister can be asked to resign or be dismissed by the prime minister.
• D. No individual can be held responsible for government decisions. Wrong. This describes collective responsibility taken to an extreme and contradicts "individual" responsibility.

Step 4: Check the key against my own working C is not a textbook definition word for word, but it is the only option that reflects the real consequence of individual responsibility: an erring minister is held to account and can be removed by the prime minister.

Answer: C

Exam tip: Pair the words "individual" and "collective" like this:

• Individual = one minister is answerable and can be sacked or made to resign.
• Collective = all ministers stand or fall together.

If an option says "no individual" or "only", be suspicious, since extreme words are often wrong in Government questions.