THE CONVENTIONS GOVERNING MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITY ARE UNCERTAIN IN SCOPE AND INADEQUATE TO PROVIDE PROPER SAFEGUARDS AGAINST INCOMPETENCE OR IMPROPRIETY. DISCUSS.

As we have learnt from out study of conventions, it would be very difficult to track down every convention relevant to ministerial responsibility, as they can be found from a variety of sources, some of which are unwritten.  I shall be attempting to examine the most significant conventions, and examining their nature to determine exactly how effective they are.  In particular, I shall look at the nature of convention itself to establish criteria on which we can judge the scope and adequacy of the conventions.  I shall also examine incompetence and impropriety throughout ministerial departments and the civil service, because as we shall discover shortly, ministers are accountable for more than just their own actions….(short extract)