Cabinet Office

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Cabinet Office
Cabinet Office logo.svg
Cabinet Office (29542331802).jpg
70 Whitehall, Westminster
Department overview
FormedDecember 1916;108 years ago (December 1916)
Preceding Department
Jurisdiction Government of the United Kingdom
Headquarters70 Whitehall, London, United Kingdom
51°30′13″N0°7′36″W / 51.50361°N 0.12667°W / 51.50361; -0.12667
Employees10,220 (as of December 2021) [1]
Annual budget£2.1 billion (current) & £400 million (capital) for 2011–12 [2]
Minister responsible
Department executives
Child Department
Website gov.uk/cabinet-office

The Cabinet Office is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. [3] It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and coordinate the delivery of government objectives via other departments. As of December 2021, it had over 10,200 staff, mostly civil servants, some of whom work in Whitehall. Staff working in the Prime Minister's Office are part of the Cabinet Office.

Contents

Responsibilities

The Cabinet Office's core functions are: [4]

The Cabinet Office has responsibility for the following at the UK national level:

History

The department was formed in December 1916 from the secretariat of the Committee of Imperial Defence [8] under Sir Maurice Hankey, the first Cabinet Secretary.

Traditionally the most important part of the Cabinet Office's role was facilitating collective decision-making by the Cabinet, through running and supporting Cabinet-level committees. This is still its principal role, but since the absorption of some of the functions of the Civil Service Department in 1981 the Cabinet Office has also helped to ensure that a wide range of Ministerial priorities are taken forward across Whitehall.

It also contains miscellaneous units that do not sit well in other departments. For example:

In modern times the Cabinet Office often takes on responsibility for areas of policy which are the priority of the Government of the time. The units that administer these areas migrate in and out of the Cabinet Office as government priorities (and governments) change.

Ministers and civil servants

The Cabinet Office Ministers are as follows, with cabinet ministers in bold: [10]

MinisterPortraitOfficePortfolio
The Rt Hon. Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer Official Portrait (cropped).jpg Prime Minister
First Lord of the Treasury
Minister for the Civil Service
Head of government; oversees the operation of the Civil Service and government agencies; appoints members of the government; he is the principal government figure in the House of Commons.
The Rt Hon. Pat McFadden MP Pat McFadden Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped).jpg Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
The Rt Hon. Nick Thomas-Symonds MP FRHistS Nick Thomas Symonds official portrait 7 Jul 2024 (cropped).jpg Minister for the Cabinet Office
Paymaster General
Delivery of the government's efficiency programme; Civil Service Modernisation and Reform; Places for growth programme; Cabinet Office business planning and performance; Infected Blood Inquiry; Public bodies reform programme; Spend controls reform; Oversight of the cross-cutting functions and government functional strategy.

Additionally supports the Deputy Prime Minister on: Driving delivery of the government's priorities; Civil contingencies and resilience. [11]

Ellie Reeves MP Official portrait of Ellie Reeves MP crop 2, 2023.jpg Minister of State without Portfolio Supporting DPM on driving delivery of Government's priorities; Supporting DPM and MCO on ensuring efficiency and value for money in Government policy; Supporting DPM and MCO on ensuring efficiency and value for money in Government delivery; Ensuring effective communication of Government's priorities; Public Bodies reform programme (supporting MCO); Public appointments outreach (supporting DPM and BNR). [12]
Georgia Gould MP Official portrait of Georgia Gould MP crop 2.jpg Parliamentary Secretary Public sector reform; Oversight of government functions; Cabinet Office business planning and performance; Public Bodies policy; Cabinet Office arm’s length body sponsorship.
Abena Oppong-Asare MP Official portrait of Abena Oppong-Asare MP crop 2, 2024.jpg Parliamentary Secretary National security, resilience, and civil contingencies, including:Integrated Security Fund; Government Security Group, including UK Security Vetting; Transparency Data policy, correspondence policy, and Freedom of Information; Supporting the Minister for the Cabinet Office on Inquiries policy and constitution.

Leaders of the Houses of Commons and Lords supported by the Cabinet Office are as follows:

MinisterPortraitOfficePortfolio
The Rt Hon. Lucy Powell MP Official portrait of Lucy Powell.jpg Leader of the House of Commons
Lord President of the Council
The Government's Legislative Programme, chairing the Cabinet Committee; Managing and announcing the business of the House of Commons weekly and facilitating motions and debate in the Chamber, particularly on House business; Government's representative in the House (sitting on the House of Commons Commission, Public Accounts Commission, and the Speaker's Committees on the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority); House of Commons representative in Government; Parliamentary reform and policy; Ministerial responsibility for the Privy Council Office.
The Rt Hon. The Baroness Smith of Basildon PC Official portrait of Baroness Smith of Basildon 2020 crop 2.jpg Leader of the House of Lords
Lord Privy Seal
Management and delivery of the Government's legislative programme (through the House of Lords) and facilitating the passage of individual bills; Leading the House (in the Chamber and as a key member of domestic committees to do with procedure, conduct, and the internal governance of the House); Issues connected to the House of Lords and its governance; Speaking for the Government in the Chamber on a range of issues, including repeating in the House of Lords statements made to the Commons by the Prime Minister; Ceremonial and other duties as the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal.
The Rt Hon. The Lord Collins of Highbury Official portrait of Lord Collins of Highbury crop 2, 2019.jpg Deputy Leader of the House of Lords The Deputy Leader of the House of Lords supports the House of Lords in its job of questioning government ministers, improving legislation and debating topics of national significance.

The Cabinet Office's most senior civil servants are as follows, as of December 2024 [13] :

NamePortraitPositionTerm start
Sir Chris Wormald KCB [14] Sir Chris Wormald.png Cabinet Secretary
Head of the Home Civil Service
16 December 2024;11 days ago
Cat Little CB [15] Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office
Chief Operating Officer of the Home Civil Service
1 April 2024;8 months ago
Sarah Harrison [16] Chief Operating Officer for the Cabinet OfficeJuly 2020;4 years ago
Simon Baugh [17] Chief Executive of Government CommunicationsOctober 2021;3 years ago
Sir Gareth Rhys Williams CB Bt [18] Government Chief Commercial Officer
Non-Executive Director, Crown Commercial Service (CCS)
14 March 2016;8 years ago
Christine Bellamy [19] Chief Executive Officer, Government Digital Service June 2024;6 months ago
Richard Hornby [20] Chief Financial Officer, Cabinet OfficeFebruary 2020;4 years ago
Vincent Devine [21] Government Chief Security OfficerDecember 2021;3 years ago
Kathryn Al-Shemmeri [22] Chief People Officer, Cabinet OfficeSeptember 2022;2 years ago
Darren Tierney [23] Darren Tierney.png Director General, Propriety and Constitution GroupMarch 2021;3 years ago
Sir Tim Barrow GCMG LVO MBE [24] Sir Tim Barrow, 2022.png National Security Adviser 7 September 2022;2 years ago
Madeleine Alessandri CMG [25] Chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee 1 July 2023;17 months ago

The Cabinet Office also supports the work of the Whips Offices of the House of Lords and House of Commons.

The Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Cabinet Office supports the work of ministers.

Committees

Cabinet committees have two key purposes: [26]

Buildings

The entrance to the Cabinet Office. Cabinet Office, Whitehall, London, UK - 20130629-02.jpg
The entrance to the Cabinet Office.

The main building of the Cabinet Office is at 70 Whitehall, adjacent to Downing Street. The building connects three historically distinct properties, as well as the remains of Henry VIII's 1530 tennis courts, part of the Palace of Whitehall, which can be seen within the building. The Whitehall frontage was designed by Sir John Soane and completed by Sir Charles Barry between 1845 and 1847 as the Treasury Buildings. Immediately to the west Dorset House (1700) connects the front of the building to William Kent's Treasury (1733–36), which faces out onto Horse Guards Parade. The latter is built over the site of the Cockpit, used for cock fighting in the Tudor period, and subsequently as a theatre. In the early 1960s the buildings were restored and many of the Tudor remains were exposed and repaired. Significant renovations between 2010 and 2016 converted many of the floors to open plan and created new office space. The Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms are located on this site.

The department occupies other buildings in Whitehall and the surrounding area, including part of the Government Offices Great George Street at 1 Horse Guards, as well as sites in other parts of the country.

See also

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References

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