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![]() Cabinet Office, Whitehall, London | |
Department overview | |
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Formed | December 1916 |
Preceding Department | |
Jurisdiction | Government of the United Kingdom |
Headquarters | 70 Whitehall, London, England 51°30′13″N0°7′36″W / 51.50361°N 0.12667°W Coordinates: 51°30′13″N0°7′36″W / 51.50361°N 0.12667°W |
Employees | 10,220 (As of December 2021) [1] |
Annual budget | £2.1 billion (current) & £400 million (capital) for 2011–12 [2] |
Ministers responsible |
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Department executives | |
Child agencies | |
Website | Cabinet Office |
This article is part of a series on |
Politics of the United Kingdom |
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The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. [3] It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objectives via other departments. As of December 2021, it has over 10,200 staff, most of whom are civil servants, some of whom work in Whitehall. Staff working in the Prime Minister's Office are part of the Cabinet Office.
The Cabinet Office's core functions are: [4]
The Cabinet Office has responsibility for the following at a UK national level:
UK Government Procurement Policy Notes are issued in the name of the Cabinet Office, although in the past they were issued by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS). [8] The CCS Helpdesk continues to act as the contact point for any queries. [9]
The department was formed in December 1916 from the secretariat of the Committee of Imperial Defence [10] 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.
The Cabinet Office Ministers are as follows: [12]
Minister | Rank | Portfolio |
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The Rt Hon. Rishi Sunak MP | Prime Minister First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service Minister for the Union | 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. Oliver Dowden MP | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Driving delivery of Government’s priorities including oversight of the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit, equalities including oversight of the Government Equalities Office, oversight of all Cabinet Office policy issues, the Union and intergovernmental relations, constitution, national security and cyber security, oversight of civil contingencies and resilience including COBR, oversight of Cabinet Office business planning, oversight of major events, including Bridges, oversight of borders and migration, oversight of honours, oversight of Cabinet Office’s work on science, technology, and innovation, including oversight of the Office of Science and Technology Strategy. |
The Rt Hon. Jeremy Quin MP | Minister for the Cabinet Office Paymaster General | Delivery of the Government’s efficiency programme; Civil Service modernisation and reform; Places for Growth; Cabinet Office business planning and performance, including Cabinet Office 2025; oversight of the Crown Commercial Service; commercial models; Government Commercial Function; Central Digital and Data Office; Government Digital Service; Office of Government Property; Government Property Agency; Infrastructure and Projects Authority (jointly with HMT); Government Communications Service; Government Security Group; including United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV); Public Sector Fraud Authority; Civil Service HR; Propriety and Ethics; supporting Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on civil contingencies and resilience; including COBR; public appointments; Infected Blood inquiry sponsorship. |
The Rt Hon. The Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG | 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. |
Alex Burghart MP | Parliamentary Secretary | 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. |
The Rt Hon. Nadhim Zahawi MP | Minister without Portfolio | |
The Rt Hon. Johnny Mercer 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. |
The Rt Hon. Penny Mordaunt 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 Lord True CBE | 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 Earl Howe | 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 | Tenure |
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Simon Case [13] | Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service | 9 September 2020 – present |
Alex Chisholm [14] | Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive of the Home Civil Service | 14 April 2020 – present |
Sir Tim Barrow [15] | National Security Adviser | 7 September 2022 - present |
The Cabinet Office also supports the work of:
The Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Cabinet Office supports the work of ministers.
Cabinet committees have two key purposes: [16]
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 1 Horse Guards, as well as sites in other parts of the country.
The Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) is an interagency deliberative body of the United Kingdom responsible for intelligence assessment, coordination, and oversight of the Secret Intelligence Service, Security Service, GCHQ, and Defence Intelligence. The JIC is supported by the Joint Intelligence Organisation under the Cabinet Office.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of His Majesty's Government. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development (DFID). The FCO, itself created in 1968 by the merger of the Foreign Office (FO) and the Commonwealth Office, was responsible for protecting and promoting British interests worldwide.
His Majesty's Home Civil Service, also known as His Majesty's Civil Service, the Home Civil Service, or colloquially as the Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy or secretariat of Crown employees that supports His Majesty's Government, which is led by a cabinet of ministers chosen by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as two of the three devolved administrations: the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government, but not the Northern Ireland Executive.
The British government is directed by the Cabinet, a group of senior government ministers led by the Prime Minister. Most of the day-to-day work of the Cabinet is carried out by Cabinet committees, rather than by the full Cabinet. Each committee has its own area of responsibility, and their decisions are binding on the entire Cabinet.
The Ministry of Defence is the department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by His Majesty's Government, and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces.
The Home Office (HO), also known as the Home Department, is a ministerial department of His Majesty's Government, responsible for immigration, security, and law and order. As such, it is responsible for policing in England and Wales, fire and rescue services in England, visas and immigration, and the Security Service (MI5). It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs, counter-terrorism, and ID cards. It was formerly responsible for His Majesty's Prison Service and the National Probation Service, but these have been transferred to the Ministry of Justice.
The Welsh Government is the devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and deputy ministers, and also of a counsel general. Ministers only attend the Cabinet Meetings of the Welsh Government. It is led by the first minister, usually the leader of the largest party in the Senedd, who selects ministers and deputy ministers with the approval of the Senedd. The government is responsible for tabling policy in devolved areas for consideration by the Senedd and implementing policy that has been approved by it.
A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powers, including general responsibility for the entire civil service.
The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) is an executive agency and trading fund of the Cabinet Office of the UK Government. The CCS is responsible for managing the procurement of common goods and services, increasing savings for the taxpayer by centralising buying requirements, and leading on procurement policy on behalf of the government.
The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) was a UK Government Office established as part of HM Treasury in 2000. It was moved into the Efficiency and Reform Group of the Cabinet Office in 2010, before being closed in 2011.
The Prime Minister's Strategy Unit was a unit based in the UK Cabinet Office between 2002 and 2010. The Strategy Unit was established by the former Prime Minister Tony Blair, forming one part of a more streamlined centre of government along with a Delivery Unit, a Policy Unit and a Communications Unit.
The Gershon Efficiency Review was a review of efficiency in the UK public sector conducted in 2003-4 by Sir Peter Gershon.
The Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) was a UK government agency providing computer and telecoms support to government departments.
The counter-terrorism page primarily deals with special police or military organizations that carry out arrest or direct combat with terrorists. This page deals with the other aspects of counter-terrorism:
The Cabinet Secretary is the most senior civil servant in the United Kingdom, and is based in the Cabinet Office. The person in this role acts as the senior policy adviser to the Prime Minister and Cabinet and as the Secretary to the Cabinet, is responsible to all ministers for the efficient running of government. The role is currently occupied by Simon Case.
The National Security Committee (NSC), also known as National Security Committee of Cabinet, is the peak decision-making body for national security and major foreign policy matters in the Australian Government. It is a committee of the Cabinet of Australia though decisions of the NSC do not require the endorsement of the Cabinet itself.
The Department of Home Affairs is the Australian Government interior ministry with responsibilities for national security, law enforcement, emergency management, border control, immigration, refugees, citizenship, transport security and multicultural affairs. The portfolio also includes federal agencies such as the Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. The Home Affairs portfolio reports to the Minister for Home Affairs, currently held by Clare O'Neil, and is led by the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, Mike Pezzullo. In 2022, the Australian Federal Police, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and Australian Transaction and Analysis Center were de-merged from the department and moved to the Attorney General portfolio.
The Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat (EDS) is a secretariat in the United Kingdom Cabinet Office.
At around £290 billion every year, public sector procurement accounts for around a third of all public expenditure in the UK. EU-based laws continue to apply to government procurement: procurement is governed by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Part 3 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015, and the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations of 2015 and 2016. These regulations implement EU law, which applied in the UK prior to Brexit, and also contain rules known as the "Lord Young Rules" promoting access for small and medium enterprise (SMEs) to public sector contracts, based on Lord Young's Review Growing Your Business, published in 2013. In November 2016 an advisory panel of 24 entrepreneurs and business figures was formed to advise the government on purchasing goods and services from SMEs, and a campaign was launched to demonstrate that "government is open for business", with a target of increasing government spending with SMEs to 33% of all third-party public expenditure by 2020.
The minister of state for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency is a ministerial office in the Cabinet Office in the Government of the United Kingdom. This position was created by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in February 2020 as a renaming of Minister of State for the Treasury with new responsibilities. It was a joint office with HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office from 2020 to 2022. After Jacob Rees-Mogg was appointed in February 2022, the role was made a full member of the Cabinet; he was based solely at the Cabinet Office.
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