| Agency Name: | Cabinet Office |
| Type: | Department |
| Picture Caption: | 70 Whitehall, Westminster |
| Formed: | December 1916 |
| Preceding1: | Committee of Imperial Defence |
| Jurisdiction: | Government of the United Kingdom |
| Headquarters: | 70 Whitehall, London, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates: | 51.5036°N -0.1267°W |
| Employees: | 10,220 [1] |
| Budget: | £2.1 billion (current) & £400 million (capital) for 2011–12[2] |
| Minister1 Name: | The Rt Hon. Sir Keir Starmer |
| Minister1 Pfo: | Prime Minister |
| Minister4 Name: | The Rt Hon. Pat McFadden |
| Chief1 Name: | The Rt Hon. Simon Case |
| Chief1 Position: | Cabinet Secretary |
| Chief2 Name: | Cat Little |
| Chief2 Position: | Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary |
| Child1 Agency: | Crown Commercial Service |
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.
The Cabinet Office's core functions are:[4]
The Cabinet Office has responsibility for the following at the UK national level:
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.
The Cabinet Office Ministers are as follows, with cabinet ministers in bold:
| width=95px | Minister | Portrait | width=110px | Office | Portfolio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP | Prime Minister First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service | Head of government
| |||
| The Rt Hon. Pat McFadden MP | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | ||||
| 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.[10] | |||
| 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).[11] | |||
| 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:
| width=95px | Minister | Portrait | width=110px | Office | Portfolio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leader of the House of Commons | 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. | ||||
| Leader of the House of Lords | 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 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 | Portrait | Position | Term start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simon Case [12] | Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service | ||
| Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive of the Home Civil Service | |||
| Sir Tim Barrow [13] | National Security Adviser | ||
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.
See main article: United Kingdom cabinet committee. Cabinet committees have two key purposes:[14]
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.
