The Cabinet: Chancellor, Home and Foreign Secretaries

The Prime Minister appoints about 20 senior MPs as ministers in charge of departments to form the Cabinet, which usually meets weekly. Key roles include: Chancellor of the Exchequer (responsible for the economy); Home Secretary (crime, policing, immigration); Foreign Secretary (managing relationships with foreign countries); and Secretaries of State for education, health, defence and other subjects. Many cabinet decisions must be debated or approved by Parliament.