Units in the Cabinet Office
Central Sponsor for Information Assurance
Role
The Central Sponsor for Information Assurance (CSIA) helps protect the nation's IT and telecommunications services. It works with partners in the public and private sectors, as well as international counterparts.
Objectives
CSIA provides a strategic direction and a central focus for all activities related to information assurance. Information assurance is the confidence that information systems will protect the information they handle and will function correctly.
Website
Central Sponsor for Information Assurance
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Honours and Appointments Secretariat
Role
The Honours and Appointments Secretariat have policy responsibility for the UK honours system and gallantry awards; and operational responsibility for the Prime Minister’s List and publication of all honours lists.
Objectives
The major work streams in the Secretariat are:
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Policy on, and coordination of, the honours system and particular responsibility for the Prime Minister’s List.
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Correspondence from the public on honours and honours related matters.
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Policy on medals.
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Senior Church and State Appointments in which the Prime Minister plays a role, particularly that of submitting advice to The Queen.
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Appointments to 200 Crown parishes and, where the Lord Chancellor is patron, of 450 parishes and 12 cathedral canonries.
Website
UK Honours System [External website]
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Civil Contingencies Secretariat
Role
- To ensure the UK's resilience at every level (central, regional and local) against disruptive challenge.
- To do this by working with others to anticipate, assess, prevent, prepare, respond and recover.
Objectives
- To make sure that the Government can continue to function and deliver public services during a crisis. To work with departments and the wider Cabinet Office to make sure that plans and systems are in place and cover the full range of potential disruption.
- To lead the delivery of improved resilience across the government and the public sector. To support ministers in developing policy.
- To lead horizon-scanning activity to identify and assess potential and imminent disruptive challenges to the domestic UK. To build partnerships with other organisations and countries to develop and share best practice in horizon scanning and knowledge of the UKs critical networks and infrastructure.
- To improve the capability of all levels of government, the wider public sector and the private and voluntary sectors to prepare for, respond to, and manage potential challenges.
Website
UK Resilience
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Civil Service Capability Group
Role
The role of the Civil Service Capability Group is to strengthen the effectiveness of the Civil Service’s organisation, leaders and workforce to deliver the Government’s business priorities and improve public services.
Objectives
- To support departments to raise their capability to deliver their strategic purpose.
- To promote HR capability and effectiveness across the Civil Service.
- To promote a more effective and diverse Civil Service.
- To provide modern and efficient HR services on behalf of the Civil Service.
Website
Civil Service [External website]
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Foreign and Defence Policy Secretariat
Role
To support and advice the Prime Minister in delivering the Cabinet Office’s wider responsibilities for providing support to the Cabinet in driving the coherence, quality and delivery of foreign and defence policy across departments.
Objectives
- To deliver Whitehall-wide foreign, security and defence policy for Prime Minister and ministers.
- To help organise deliverables for the PM overseas visits.
- Communicating the PM’s views to Whitehall and to advisers to other countries Heads of Government.
- Developing and co - ordinating cross Government strategies in support of Cabinet Government.
Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat
Role
To deliver a high-quality and efficient service to support Cabinet and Cabinet committee business.
Objectives
The Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat (EDS) aims to support the Government’s policy priorities by:
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identifying cross-cutting issues that need collective consideration, and brokering agreement between departments where necessary
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providing high-quality advice to the Prime Minister and Government on policy issues
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supporting the Prime Minister and the Leader of the House of Commons in determining and managing the legislative programme
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supporting the Minister for the Cabinet Office in his responsibilities for the Statistics Board
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Emergency Planning College (EPC)
Role
As part of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, the Emergency Planning College (EPC) plays the leading role in enhancing the human component of the United Kingdom's resilience through the delivery of multi-agency doctrine and training in civil protection. It trains some 7,000 people each year in the full range of civil protection and public safety subjects.
Objectives
- To deliver multi-agency doctrine and training to support UK resilience.
- To have an international reputation as the UK's national centre of excellence for emergency planning and management.
Website
Emergency Planning College
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European and Global Issues Secretariat
Role
To support the Prime Minister in driving forward his International Economic and European Union (EU) policy priorities; and to coordinate these policy issues across all departments at both ministerial and official level.
Objectives
The European and Global Issues Secretariat support the Prime Minister in delivering his EU agenda. It does this by:
- supporting the Prime Minister in his dealings with other heads of Government on EU and international economic matters
- pursuing high-level negotiations and contacts with officials in other EU Member States, new Member States, Accession States and countries more widely in pursuit of British interests in the EU
- providing a Secretariat role to the Prime Minister including in his role as Chairman of EUS and to the Foreign Secretary as Chairman of NSID(EU) and JMC(E) Committees
- working closely with the Prime Minister’s Office to make sure that all briefing provided to the Prime Minister takes account of EU aspects, including the public presentation of that policy
- Communicates across Government the Prime Minister’s priorities for EU and international economic affairs policy.
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Government Chief Whip (Lords)
Role
To support the Government Whips and government business in the House of Lords.
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Government Communication
Role
Government Communication provides strategic direction and leadership on cross–government issues and helps integrate communication into policy. It also supports the Government Communication Network (GCN) helping share best practice and raise professional standards of communicators across government. The group also advises on propriety relating to communciation issues.
Website
Government Communication [External website]
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Knowledge and Information Management Unit
Role
Consolidating and transforming the work of electronic information and records management, records compliance and archive review, and introducing knowledge management practices into departmental business processes. They manage the corporate memory through archives, secure records review, a programme of official histories, information access rights and support of collaborative working tools.
Objectives
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Knowledge management – developing a knowledge and information management strategy and assessing the appropriate collaborative tools and practices that will improve knowledge sharing within the Cabinet Office.
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Corporate memory – operating an effective and efficient records management system including.
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Openness – ensuring that the Cabinet Office complies with access to information legislation, such as the Freedom of Information, Data Protection Act, Environmental Impact Regulations and Public Records Act.
Group on Security and Intelligence Records: The Cabinet Office interdepartmental Advisory Group on Security and Intelligence Records considers a range of issues concerning intelligence related records.
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Independent Offices
Role
To support four independent bodies whose task is to advise on and/or regulate the Government's approach to a range of appointments. These bodies are:
- the Civil Service Commissioners (OCSC)
- the House of Lords Appointment Commission (HOLAC)
- the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA)
- the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (OACOBA).
Objectives
- OCSC – to ensure that recruitment to the Civil Service is made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition in accordance with the Civil Service Order in Council 1995 and corresponding Diplomatic Service Order, and to help departments promote the Civil Service Code and to provide an independent line of appeal under it.
- HOLAC – to recommend non-party-political peers for the House of Lords and to vet all nominations for life peerages.
- OCPA – to regulate monitor, report and advise on the way ministers make appointments to the boards of public bodies.
- OACOBA – to administer the Business Appointment Rules for Crown servants and the guidelines for former ministers in order to maintain public confidence in the appointments that Crown servants and ministers take up after retirement or resignation.
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Office of the Leader of the House of Commons
Role
To support the Leader of the House of Commons and the Deputy Leader in carrying out their ministerial responsibilities.
Website
Leader of the House of Commons [External website]
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Office of the Third Sector
Role
We deliver on our aims by:
- Driving action to improve government and third sector partnership working, such as promoting the Compact.
- Funding programmes to support the sector's development, such as Capacitybuilders and Futurebuilders.
- Ensuring a good regulatory environment for the sector, such as the implementation of the Charities Act 2006.
- Developing the evidence base and analysis of the sector, in work such as the Citizenship Survey, to better inform the work of the Government and third sector.
Objectives
- Develop an environment which enables the third sector to thrive, growing in its contribution to Britain's society, economy and environment.
Our thematic aims are to work in partnership with the sector to:
- Enable campaigning and empowerment, particularly for those at risk of social exclusion.
- Strengthen communities, drawing together people from different sections of society.
- Transform public services, through delivery, design, innovation and campaigning.
- Enable social enterprise growth and development, combining business and social goals.
Website
Office of the Third Sector
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Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (PCO)
Role
To draft the Government's Primary Legislation Programme.
Objectives
The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel drafts and scrutinises statutory instruments which amend primary legislation. The Parliamentary Counsel also drafts other statutory instruments and scrutinises regulatory reform orders.
Website
Office of the Parliamentary Counsel
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Social Exclusion Task Force
Role
To ensure that the opportunities enjoyed by the vast majority of people in the UK become available to those whose lives have been characterised by deprivation and exclusion. This will be achieved by working across Government and beyond to improve the life chances of the most disadvantaged.
Objectives
The Social Exclusion Task Force focuses on the most socially excluded – the bottom 2–3% of society – who face multiple and inter–generational problems which require joined–up solutions across several Departments. Our work follows five principles:
- Early intervention
- Identifying ‘what works’
- Multi–agency working
- Personalisation, rights and responsibilities
- Supporting achievement and managing under–performance.
Website
Social Exclusion Task Force
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Strategy Unit
Role
To provide the Prime Minister and government departments with the ability to:
- analyse major policy issues; and
- design strategic solutions.
Objectives
- To carry out long-term strategic reviews of major policy areas.
- To carry out studies of cross-cutting policy issues.
- To work with departments to promote strategic thinking and improve policy-making.
Website
Strategy Unit
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Transformational Government
Role
To provide overall technology leadership in three key areas:
- The transformation of public services for the benefit of citizens, businesses, taxpayers and front-line staff.
- The efficiency of the corporate services and infrastructure of government organisations, thus freeing resources for the front-line.
- The steps necessary to achieve the effective delivery of technology for government.
Website
Transformational Government website
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