Cabinet Office
- This article is about the Cabinet Office in the United Kingdom. For other Cabinet Offices see Cabinet Office (disambiguation).
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The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet in progressing matters that require coordination across Government departments. This should be distinguished from the Prime Minister's personal staff who form the Prime Minister's Office.
The Cabinet Office historically had oversight of Her Majesty's Stationery Office, now part of the Office of Public Sector Information.
Objectives
As of 2006, the stated objectives of the Cabinet Office are:
- To support the Prime Minister in leading the government
- To achieve coordination of policy and operations across government
- To improve delivery by building capacity in departments and the public services
- To promote standards that ensure good governance, including adherence to the Ministerial and Civil Service Codes
History
Historically, the most important part of the Cabinet Office's role was facilitating collective decision-making by the Cabinet, through running and supporting Cabinet committees. That role continues, but in the 1980s and 1990s the Cabinet Office has increasingly taken on a broader role in ensuring that Government priorities are taken forward across Whitehall. These include:
- Ensuring delivery of the public service targets that the Government has set itself in the priority areas of education, health, transport and crime and asylum. This is carried out by the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit, set up by the Labour Government in 1997.
- e-Government — giving citizens better access to public information and services through better IT (through the e-Government Unit) - see also Transformational Government
- Promoting better forms of regulation, which are less burdensome for business (through the Better Regulation Executive)
- Management of civil service staffing (in relation to issues not delegated to departments) and reform of the civil service
Current staff
The Cabinet Office is intended to support the Prime Minister, who is also Minister for the Civil Service and First Lord of the Treasury. The Office is currently headed by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Social Exclusion (& Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster). This post was vacant following the promotion of John Hutton to the Department of Work and Pensions. On 5 May 2006 the offices were given to Hilary Armstrong.
Other Ministers located in the Cabinet Office:
- Minister without Portfolio : 2006 - date The Rt Hon. Hazel Blears MP
- Parliamentary Secretary : 2006 - date Ed Miliband MP
- Parliamentary Secretary : 2006 - date Pat McFadden MP
The Cabinet Office includes 4 permanent secretaries. The Cabinet Secretary is the head of the home Civil Service and is also responsible for the organisation of the Cabinet Office. The incumbent is Sir Gus O'Donnell, who took over from Sir Andrew Turnbull in September 2005. Sir Richard Mottram, permanent secretary, Intelligence & Resilience, is "Security and Intelligence co-ordinator" across government and chairs the Joint Intelligence Committee. Ian Watmore is Permanent Secretary, Delivery and Transformation. Howell James is Permanent Secretary, Government Communication. In anticipation of the appointement of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, the Cabinet Secretary announced on 12 June 2007 that Jeremy Heywood, presently Managing Director and co–head of the UK Investment Banking Division at Morgan Stanley, will become head of Domestic Policy and strategy; Jon Cunliffe, previously Second Permanent Secretary, Macroeconomic Policy and International Finance at HM Treasury, will become head of International Economic Affairs and Europe and Simon McDonald, who is Director, Iraq at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, will become head of Foreign and Defence Policy.The 3 men will, according to the announcement, "lead new structures in the Cabinet Office designed to strengthen policy, strategy and co–ordination at the centre of Government". They will have the role and title of the Prime Minister's senior advisers (presumably at permanent secretary rank) on domestic policy, international economic issues and Europe, and foreign and defence issues respectively and will report directly to the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Gus O'Donnell.
Buildings
The main building of the Cabinet Office is at 70 Whitehall, adjacent to Downing Street.
Remains of Henry VIII's tennis courts from the Palace of Whitehall can be seen within the building. Kent's Treasury at the back of the building was used to imprison Princess Anne (later Queen) in the late 17th century.