The Prime Minister appoints about 20 senior MPs to become ministers in charge of
departments. These include the Chancellor of the Exchequer, responsible for the
economy, the Home Secretary, responsible for law, order and immigration, the Foreign
Secretary, and ministers (called “Secretaries of State”) for education, health and defence.
The Lord Chancellor, who is the minister responsible for legal affairs, is also a member
of the Cabinet but sat in the House of Lords rather than the House of Commons.
Following legislation passed in 2005, it is now possible for the Lord Chancellor to sit in
the Commons. These ministers form the Cabinet, a small committee which usually meets
weekly and makes important decisions about government policy which often then have to
be debated or approved by Parliament.

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