The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom.[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.
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![]() Cabinet Office, Whitehall, London | |
Department overview | |
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Formed | December 1916 |
Preceding Department | |
Jurisdiction | United Kingdom |
Headquarters | 70 Whitehall, London, England 51°30′13″N 0°7′36″W / 51.50361°N 0.12667°WCoordinates: 51°30′13″N 0°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 |
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. Boris Johnson 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. Steve Barclay MP | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Oversight of all Cabinet Office policy and appointments; oversight of transition period activity and future relations with the EU; oversight of constitutional policy and enhancement, defending democracy and electoral law, devolution issues and strengthening the Union; leading cross-government and public sector transformation and efficiency; oversight of cross-government work on veterans’ issues; oversight of Cabinet Office responsibilities on National Security and resilience, and the Civil Contingencies; Secretariat, including COVID-19 supporting the coordination of the cross-government and the devolution aspects of the response to COVID-19. |
The Rt Hon. Alok Sharma MP | President for COP26 Minister of State at the Cabinet Office |
Leading preparations for the 26th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), to be held in Glasgow in November 2021; Chairing the Climate Action Implementation Cabinet Committee to coordinate government action towards net zero by 2050. |
The Rt Hon. The Baroness Evans of Bowes Park | 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. Jacob Rees-Mogg MP | Minister of State for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency | Oversight of the development of cross-Government work on maximising the economic and political opportunities flowing from EU exit. |
The Rt Hon. Mark Spencer 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. Michael Ellis QC MP | Minister for the Cabinet Office Paymaster General |
Supporting the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in coordinating the transition to our future relations with the EU; supporting the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on devolution issues relating to our future relationship with the EU and international trade; supporting the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on civil contingencies issues (including COVID-19), cyber security, joint funds, Official Development Assistance (ODA) and the global goals; government inquiries - Infected Blood. |
The Rt Hon. The Lord True | Minister of State at the Cabinet Office | Leading on all Cabinet Office business in the Lords, including the Cabinet Office legislation programme in the Lords; supporting the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in coordinating the transition to our future relations with the EU; supporting the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on constitutional policy and enhancement. |
Heather Wheeler MP | Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office | Supporting the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the Minister of State for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency to deliver cross-government efficiency and public sector transformation; supporting the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in coordinating the transition to our future relations with the EU; supporting Cabinet Office primary legislation in the Commons and the Cabinet Office secondary legislation programme; oversight of Cabinet Office corporate activity, including staff within the Equalities Hub (NB. responsibility for equalities policy sits with Minister for Women & Equalities, Minister for Disabled People and XST). |
Captain Leo Docherty MP | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence People and Veterans (joint with Ministry of Defence) | 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. Nigel Adams MP | Minister of State without Portfolio | |
The Rt Hon. Oliver Dowden CBE MP | Minister without Portfolio |
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 Stephen Lovegrove | National Security Advisor | 21 March 2021 - 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:[15]
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.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cabinet Office. |