"Hey, Prime Minister, leave those Cabinet Ministers alone!" (Well at least for the term of a Parliament)

"After all, ahem, you chose them, and under our suggested new system they'll have had probably the best training and inculcation in 'being a Minister' that money can buy”

End the damaging reshuffle culture in UK politics, says Select Committee 

In a report published today the House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee calls for fewer ministerial reshuffles.

Report: The impact and effectiveness of ministerial reshuffles

The Committee concludes:

• Some reshuffling of ministers is inevitable because of resignations and illness but reshuffles have become a habit in the UK. There should always be a good reason for a reshuffle. 
• There will be times when a fresh perspective is useful, but most major Government policies will benefit from having continuity of Ministers in the responsible Department.
• There should be an expectation that Secretaries of State are left in post for the length of a Parliament and more junior Ministers for a minimum of two years.
• *** The majority of the Committee concluded that there should be a specific Minister in the Cabinet Office who is responsible for ministerial development. He or she should oversee ministerial training and appraisal.
• *** There should be compulsory training for all new Ministers, continuous professional development for experienced Ministers and basic ministerial training for shadow Ministers in the 12 months before the expected date of a general election. 
• Outgoing Ministers should handover directly to their successors, rather than relying exclusively on the civil service to conduct handovers.  

*** The Minister with responsibility for ministerial development should oversee training. He or she should work with the Institute for Government to devise a programme of training that should be compulsory for all new Ministers. The training should be focused on the experience of former Ministers and should build on the work already being done by the Institute for Government. The Minister should also work with the Institute  for Government to  provide continuous professional development sessions for experienced Ministers, and basic ministerial training for shadow Ministers in the 12 months before the expected date of a general election.

The Minister with responsibility for ministerial development should conduct a regular assessment of the human resources the Government has at its disposal and how best they might be deployed. The selection of Ministers is a matter for the Prime Minister, but we encourage the Prime Minister to draw on the advice of the Minister with responsibility for ministerial development not only when considering the performance of individual Ministers, but in deciding the best overall combination of people to form effective teams within a Department and an effective Government.