Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office
	; 70 Whitehall, Westminster
Department overview
Formed	December 1916;108 years ago
Preceding Department	Committee of Imperial Defence ;
Jurisdiction	Government of the United Kingdom
Headquarters	70 Whitehall, London, United Kingdom; 51°30′13″N0°7′36″W / 51.50361°N 0.12667°W
Employees	10,220 (as of December 2021)
Annual budget	£2.1 billion (current) & £400 million (capital) for 2011–12
Minister responsible	The Rt Hon. Sir Keir Starmer, Prime Minister ; The Rt Hon. Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster ;
Department executives	The Rt Hon. Simon Case, Cabinet Secretary ; Cat Little, Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary ;
Child Department	Crown Commercial Service ;
Website	gov.uk/cabinet-office

Last updated December 13, 2024

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.

Responsibilities

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

Supporting collective government, helping to ensure the effective development, coordination, and implementation of policy;
Supporting the National Security Council and the Joint Intelligence Organisation, coordinating the government's response to crises, and managing the UK's cyber security;
Promoting efficiency and reform across government through innovation, transparency, better procurement, and project management, transforming the delivery of services, and improving the capability of the Civil Service;
Political and constitutional reform

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

the Home Civil Service
the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
the Government Commercial Function^[5] and the Government Commercial Organisation.^[6]
the government's digital, data, and technology (DDaT) function is through the Government Digital Service ^[7]

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:

The Historical Section was founded in 1906 as part of the Committee for Imperial Defence and is concerned with Official Histories.^[9]
The Joint Intelligence Committee was founded in 1936 and transferred to the department in 1957. It deals with intelligence assessments and directing the national intelligence organisations of the UK.
The Ceremonial Branch was founded in 1937 and transferred to the department in 1981. It was originally concerned with all ceremonial functions of state, but today it handles honours and appointments.

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]

Minister	Office	Portfolio
The Rt Hon. Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP	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	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Rt Hon. Nick Thomas-Symonds MP FRHistS	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	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]
Colonel Alistair Carns OBE MC MP	Minister of State for Veterans Affairs	Civilian and service personnel policy; armed forces pay, pensions and compensation; Armed Forces Covenant; welfare and service families; community engagement; equality, diversity and inclusion; veterans (including resettlement, transition, defence charities and Ministerial Covenant and Veterans Board, and Office of Veteran Affairs); legacy issues and non-operational public inquiries and inquests; mental health; Defence Medical Services; the people programme (Flexible Engagement Strategy, Future Accommodation Model and Enterprise Approach); estates service family accommodation policy and engagement with welfare.
	Minister of State in the Cabinet Office	Responsible for Windsor Framework implementation.
	Minister of State at the Cabinet Office	Cabinet Office business in the Lords; Procurement Bill; COVID-19 Commemoration; Transparency and Freedom of Information; Sponsorship of UK Statistics Authority and Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman; Geospatial Commission; Supporting the Minister for the Cabinet Office on the delivery of civil service efficiency and modernisation; Supporting the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on honours; Supporting the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on borders, including the Single Trade Window.
	Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office	Supporting the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in matters relating to the Constitution, the Union, and intergovernmental relations; Government inquiries – Infected Blood, Grenfell Tower, COVID-19; Procurement Bill; secondary legislation; support to Minister for the Cabinet Office on day-to-day management of the Government functions and Government Business Services.
	Parliamentary Secretary for the Investment Security Unit	Responsible for the Investment Security Unit.

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

Minister	Office	Portfolio
The Rt Hon. Lucy Powell MP	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	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	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 senior civil servants are as follows:

Name	Position	Term start
The Rt Hon. Simon Case CVO^[13]	Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service	9 September 2020;4 years ago (2020-09-09)
Cat Little CB	Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive of the Home Civil Service	1 April 2024;8 months ago (2024-04-01)
Sir Tim Barrow GCMG LVO MBE^[14]	National Security Adviser	7 September 2022;2 years ago (2022-09-07)

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:^[15]

To relieve the burden on the Cabinet by dealing with business that does not need to be discussed at full Cabinet. Appeals to the Cabinet should be infrequent, and Ministers chairing Cabinet Committees should exercise discretion in advising the prime minister whether to allow them.
To support the principle of collective responsibility by ensuring that, even though a question may never reach the Cabinet itself, it will be fully considered. In this way, the final judgement is sufficiently authoritative that Government as a whole can be expected to accept responsibility for it. In this sense, Cabinet Committee decisions have the same authority as Cabinet decisions.

Buildings

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.

Related Research Articles

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References

↑ "Civil service employment – Table 9, Row 23". Public sector employment dataset – June 2020. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
↑ Budget 2011 (PDF). London: HM Treasury. 2011. p. 48. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
↑ This should be distinguished from the prime minister's personal staff who form the Prime Minister's Office.
↑ "Cabinet Office, About Us". HM Government. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
↑ Government Commercial Function: Looking to the Future, accessed 5 May 2019
↑ Government Commercial Function, Government Commercial Organisation, published 5 June 2018, accessed 5 May 2019
↑ Government Functional Standard GovS 005: Digital, Data and Technology, published 2 July 2020, accessed 26 Nov 2020
↑ "Research Guide: Cabinet Office Records – Your Archives". webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 24 February 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2007.
↑ "National Archive Series reference CAB 103" . Retrieved 30 September 2014.
↑ This article incorporates text published under the British Open Government Licence : "Our ministers". GOV.UK. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
↑ "Minister for the Cabinet Office – GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2023. Text was copied from this source, which is available under an Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
↑ "Minister of State for Investment – GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2023. Text was copied from this source, which is available under an Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
↑ "Simon Case Government Profile". Gov.uk. UK Government. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
↑ "Sir Tim Barrow appointed as National Security Adviser". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
↑ "A Guide to Cabinet and Cabinet Committee Business" (PDF). London: Cabinet Office. 2008. p. 44. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2009.

External links

Official website

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[1] "Civil service employment – Table 9, Row 23". Public sector employment dataset – June 2020. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 27 May 2022.

[2] Budget 2011 (PDF). London: HM Treasury. 2011. p. 48. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2014.

[3] This should be distinguished from the prime minister's personal staff who form the Prime Minister's Office.

[4] "Cabinet Office, About Us". HM Government. Retrieved 29 March 2020.

[5] Government Commercial Function: Looking to the Future, accessed 5 May 2019

[6] Government Commercial Function, Government Commercial Organisation, published 5 June 2018, accessed 5 May 2019

[7] Government Functional Standard GovS 005: Digital, Data and Technology, published 2 July 2020, accessed 26 Nov 2020

[8] "Research Guide: Cabinet Office Records – Your Archives". webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 24 February 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2007.

[9] "National Archive Series reference CAB 103" . Retrieved 30 September 2014.

[10] This article incorporates text published under the British Open Government Licence : "Our ministers". GOV.UK. Retrieved 16 October 2022.

[11] "Minister for the Cabinet Office – GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2023. Text was copied from this source, which is available under an Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.

[12] "Minister of State for Investment – GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2023. Text was copied from this source, which is available under an Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.

[13] "Simon Case Government Profile". Gov.uk. UK Government. Retrieved 28 November 2020.

[14] "Sir Tim Barrow appointed as National Security Adviser". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.

[CO_report-15] "A Guide to Cabinet and Cabinet Committee Business" (PDF). London: Cabinet Office. 2008. p. 44. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2009.

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v t e Cabinet Office
Ministers	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Minister for the Cabinet Office Minister without Portfolio Leader of the House of Lords Leader of the House of Commons Paymaster General Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Cabinet Office
Civil Service	Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary
Ministerial departments	Office of the Leader of the House of Commons Office of the Leader of the House of Lords
Non-ministerial department	UK Statistics Authority
Executive agencies	Crown Commercial Service Government Property Agency
Non-departmental public bodies	Civil Service Commission Equality and Human Rights Commission Advisory Committee on Business Appointments Boundary Commission for England Boundary Commission for Wales Committee on Standards in Public Life House of Lords Appointments Commission Security Vetting Appeals Panel Senior Salaries Review Body
Other organisations	Commissioner for Public Appointments Government Car Service (Prime Ministerial Car) Government Equalities Office Government Estates Management Infrastructure and Projects Authority Office of the Parliamentary Counsel Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists Privy Council Office
Secretariats	Civil Contingencies Secretariat Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms Defence and Overseas Secretariat Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat
Category

Authority control databases
International	ISNI
People	UK Parliament