other IMR

• Individual ministerial responsibility

  The principle that ministers are responsible for their personal conduct and for the work of their department
• Main elements of IMR

  • Ministers must be prepared to be accountable to Parliament for the policies and decisions made by their department
  • If a minister makes a serious error of judgement, they should be required to resign
  • If the minister's department makes a serious error, whether or not the minister was involved in the cause of the error, they are likewise bound to resign
  • If a minister's conduct falls below the standards required of someone in public office, they should leave- defence secretary in 2017 resigned after inappropriate behaviour towards women
• Examples of ministers resigning

  • In 2018 the home secretary, Amber Rudd, inadvertently misled Parliament over whether she knew about regional removal targets for illegal immigrants and was forced to resign
  • Former education secretary Estelle Morris resigned in 2003 after a series of controversies relating to A-level standards and the failure of her department to meet the government's own literacy and numeracy standards
• If a minister's conduct falls below the standards required of someone in public office, they should leave office and may face dismissal by the prime minister- defence secretary in 2017 resigned after inappropriate behaviour towards women