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As explained in the chapter on Obtaining Policy Clearance, Committee Chairs decide when to hold meetings supported by advice from the Committee Secretaries. Meetings will not be set up unless departments can demonstrate that they will have a clear and justifiable purpose or unless the Chair agrees that an issue identified by the secretariat requires Ministerial discussion. This chapter outlines the steps which must be followed once it has been agreed that a Committee meeting will be required.
There are sections on:
Lead departments should liaise with the Committee Secretaries from the outset to ensure that they are aware of the handling requirements and deadlines. Many of these are set out below. Committee Secretaries can also advise on other factors, such as recess or a ministerial trip, which might disrupt plans for a meeting.
The figure below maps out the processes leading up to a Cabinet Committee meeting.
Rigorous scrutiny and discussion of the issues by a strong interdepartmental official-level committee can play a major role in making a ministerial meeting effective. They are organised and chaired by the secretariats when required.
Formal official committees are established for many Cabinet Committees, including most of those chaired by the Prime Minister. They are usually refered to as O meetings (e.g. PSX(E)(O), HSR(O) etc.).
Official committee meetings help the Secretariat and participating departments to:
In some cases, these official committee meetings may resolve all the issues so that it no longer proves necessary to get Ministers together to discuss. The issues can instead be cleared by correspondence or brought back to the Committee at a more appropriate stage. On other occasions, there may be multiple official committee meetings before an issue is ready to go to the Committee.
It is important that officials of sufficient seniority attend committees to ensure that prompt and thorough discussion takes place, and decisions can be taken.
Papers for official committee meetings should also be circulated with adequate notice and should be focussed and concise in presentation.
For the main domestic policy Cabinet Committees, those invited to the supporting 'O' committee will include as appropriate representatives from Number 10 (private office and policy directorate), Strategy Unit, Delivery Unit, Treasury, lead department(s) and other departments whose Minister is a member of the Committee.
The support teams within each secretariats are responsible for organising the meetings. After establishing the Chair's availability, the support team will ring round Departments to secure the best time for the optimum number of Committee members. Details of meetings arranged by EDS or EuroSec are confirmed by way of a meeting notice on CabCom (see Cabcom, Cabinet Documents Officers and Distribution of Committee Papers and Minutes), but a member of the support team will always ring round private offices the day before the Committee to confirm final attendance.
Because of the pressures on Ministers' time, Committee meetings are extremely difficult to organise and usually require at least 3 weeks advance notice to set up. Departments need to bear this in mind if there is a particularly pressing issue, as correspondence may be a more effective way to secure agreeement.
For Ministers, attendance at Cabinet Committee meetings should take precedence over all their other Ministerial business, except Royal and Parliamentary business.
Even if Ministers do not have a direct Departmental interest in an issue, they are expected to attend to ensure that any decision reached reflects the collective view of the whole Government. They may also have a personal or political interest in the issue under discussion and, in these circumstances, can provide effective support to the Chair in resolving disputes between other Departmental Ministers.
If the Chair cannot attend the meeting, the meeting will usually be postponed. If for reasons of urgency the meeting must go ahead, the next most senior Minister on the Committee should take the chair.
For Prime Minister chaired Committees, the Prime Minister designates a Deputy Chair to chair in his absence.
If Committee members are unable to attend:
On the Cabinet Secretary's advice, attendance at Cabinet Committees is kept to a minimum. This reflects Ministers' desire for free-ranging discussions in an atmosphere that facilitates open and frank exchange of views. Consequently, attendance is confined to Ministers and Committee Secretaries (typically 2 people from the Secretariat).
In some cases, other people may be invited to attend.
Officials, other than Committee Secretaries, attend only very exceptionally by agreement with the Chair of the Committee, on the advice of the Committee Secretaries. Usually this will only be if a presenting Minister has specifically requested support during a discussion (e.g. contributing specific, technical information). On such occasions, officials may be asked by the Chair to leave once their contribution is complete.
Committee Secretaries prepare the agenda for a Committee meeting on the basis of issues for discussion and the number of papers commissioned.
Each issue and paper is grouped and known as an agenda item. The agenda item should have the same title as the supporting paper so it is imperative that Departments inform Committee Secretaries of the title of their paper at least seven days before the meeting so that the agenda can be circulated in good time. Titles of papers should be short and self explanatory.
Departments should contact the Committee Secretaries with at least seven days' notice if a Minister wishes to raise any business orally at a meeting. Such issues need to be added to the agenda. Committee Secretaries can insist on an explanatory paper or presentation if the issue is substantial and requires background information in order to make an informed decision.
If the purpose of a meeting or agenda item is not clear, the Secretariat may request a draft paper before agreeing to set up a Committee meeting.
If an issue needs to be discussed in Committee, the Secretariat, on behalf of the Chair, will commission a paper setting out the issues for consideration.
With the Chair's agreement, these papers or presentations may be put to the Committee by Committee members or by the Committee Secretaries. They may be presented by Committee members or people invited to attend the Committee on an ad hoc basis to provide particular expertise.
Preparing the paper may be the responsibility of one lead Department or, if it is a cross-cutting issue, it may require contributions from a number of different Departmental officials. In some instances, the Secretariat will lead on pulling this together.
The paper should:
The lead department is responsible for ensuring that proposals have been discussed in advance with Ministers and officials in other interested Departments. No paper should come as a surprise to another Department. Officials' meetings are useful forums to share proposals but early drafts of papers can equally be emailed round departmental colleagues. The results of these discussions should be reflected in the paper submitted to the Committee.
For a Committee discussion to be effective, the papers need to be:
Below is a Word template with more advice for those involved with drafting papers. It sets out the key requirements, including rules on the formatting of papers.
> Template and guidance on Cabinet Committee papers (doc, 37kb)
To ensure that the paper is fit for purpose and properly formatted, the Secretariat may ask departments to submit a draft in advance of the meeting for comment. This should be done before it is submitted to Ministers for clearance. They may equally ask for such drafts to be discussed earlier at an official Committee meeting. Deadlines will be advised at the time of the commission of the paper.
Departments are required to submit their final paper, cleared by their Minister, at least two full days and a weekend before the Committee meeting.
It is essential that Committee papers are circulated with sufficient time for departments to consider them properly before Ministers meet. Once departments receive the papers from their Cabinet Documents Officer (CDO), they need to:
For some Committees, it may be necessary for written material to be translated into Braille. In these circumstances, the Committee Secretary will advise on deadlines.
The Chair may postpone a meeting on the advice of the Committee Secretaries if:
Alternatively, if the paper fails to follow the guidelines or formatting advice provided, the Committee Secretaries may refuse the paper, or elect to attach a cover sheet to the paper, highlighting the key issues for Ministerial consideration.
The Secretariat is responsible for circulating Committee papers. For more information on how this is done and on accessing Committee papers, please read the section on Cabcom, Cabinet Documents Officers and the Distribution of Committee Papers.
If a Minister wishes to deliver a PowerPoint presentation at a meeting or to hand out any additional material, the Secretariat must be informed in advance so that the Chair can be aware for handling purposes and any necessary equipment can be provided. Copies of slides must be provided for the Secretariat in advance so that they can be circulated to Committee members - the same deadline of two days and a weekend applies.
Copies of slides and any other documents brought to the Committee by Ministers will be logged officially as Cabinet Committee documents and will be circulated for information to all attendees after the meeting, along with the Minutes.
For some Committees, it may be necessary for written material to be translated into Braille. In these circumstances, the Committee Secretary will advise on deadlines.
Cabinet committee papers and minutes are classified documents. Their classification depends on their subject matter and most Committee papers are restricted.
Where the classification is confidential and above, the secretariats are responsible for distributing them to named individuals as numbered paper copies. These must not be copied. Extra copies can be requested from the Secretariats if needed.
Where the papers are classified as restricted the papers can be placed on Cabcom. Cabcom is an electronic database which can be accessed by other departments. It holds useful information about the times and locations of meetings as well as copies of Committee agendas, papers and minutes. The Economic and Domestic Secretariat manage this system and the European Secretariat also uses it.
Nearly all departments have access to Cabcom although each will only be able to see the Committees of which their Ministers are members.
Each department has a Cabinet Documents Officer (CDO) who is in charge of managing and distributing Cabinet Committee papers and minutes, whether they arrive by paper copy or on Cabcom. This official usually sits in the Secretary of State's Office and has two or three delegates who assist.
Once agendas, Committee papers or minutes are received, the CDO must distribute these to the relevant policy officials as soon as possible. Cabcom has an inbuilt function which allows CDOs to build up distribution lists for each Committee and email documents across to the relevant officials.
Where the papers are classified as Committee Members Only (CMO) the papers can also be placed on Cabcom but special rules apply.
There is a Handbook for the Cabinet Documents Officer which provides full instructions on the role of the CDO and on the layout, reproduction and control of all classifications of Cabinet papers and minutes. There should be a copy of this handbook in every departments' private office but there is also a copy available on Cabcom.
The Committee Secretaries, rather than departmental officials, are responsible for briefing the Committee Chairman. This is to ensure that the Chair receives neutral, impartial advice on the issue for discussion, the likely views around the table and options for their resolution and to improve the chances of a successful outcome to the meeting. These briefing sessions are informal and just for Ministers. The briefing process involves Committee Secretaries:
It is the responsibility of any department initiating or leading on proposals under discussion to ensure their Minister is sufficiently briefed to answer colleagues' questions and address their concerns.
It is essential that other departments ensure their Ministers have the correct briefing from their officials on the issues being discussed at Cabinet committee meetings. This is so that they can:
Departments may also wish to consider whether their Minister will want to offer an objective or personal opinion from an informed, non-departmental standpoint. Some of the most successful collective discussions are informed by Ministers giving political insights or talking from personal experience.
Decisions at Cabinet Committees are binding, so it is not possible for officials to attempt to reopen any agreed issue on the grounds that their Minister was not properly briefed.
The Committee Secretaries are responsible for taking minutes of Committee meetings; these form part of the historical record of the Government's business. To maintain the principle of open and frank discussion, contributions from Ministers other than the Minister introducing the subject are unattributable.
Committee members or their officials do not comment on or clear the minutes in advance of their being issued; this is to maintain the impartiality and objectivity of the Secretariat as minute-takers and, on a more practical level, to ensure that the minutes can be issued within 24 hours of the meeting.
However, if a Minister present at the Committee has a factual correction to make, such amendments must reach the Committee Secretary within 24 hours of circulation.
Committee Secretaries will ensure that the actions agreed at the meeting are clearly flagged in the minutes and accompanying documents.
It is the responsibility of Committee members' private offices to ensure that their Ministers clearly instruct their departments to implement the decisions of the Committee.
It is also vital that the Cabinet Documents Officer ensures that all records of actions (e.g. the minutes) reach the relevant officials within their departments.
If the relevant officials do not understand the action placed on them, they must contact the Committee Secretaries.
If a Department did not attend the meeting, but has an action upon it, the Committee Secretaries will notify the department concerned.
Some policy areas and Committees have specific requirements which apply to setting up a meeting. Some examples are listed below however the relevant Committee Secretaries will be able to advise you further.
RB(PRA) is the Committee responsible for this policy area. It is chaired by the Prime Minister, the Chancellor is the joint Chair and the Minister for the Cabinet Office is the alternate Chair.
RB(PRA) meetings usually consider the regulatory activity of one or two department's at a time and look at the total regulatory impact of a department's business and at regulatory measures in specific policy areas.
RB(PRA) meetings also consider the clearance of major regulatory proposals from other departments: Department's are invited to attend the meeting or can make a written representation.
RB(PRA) meetings follow a question and answer format with the members of the panel taking it in turns to ask the invited Ministers to answer questions on regulatory issues.
The papers for RB(PRA) meetings should cover the cumulative burden of regulatory activity in a specific area and propose alternatives to regulation where possible. Further guidance on preparing a paper for RB(PRA) can be obtained from the joint Cabinet Office/Better Regulation Executive Secretariat to RB(PRA).
LP is the Committee which examines legislative proposals. It has different requirements in terms of meetings and papers. More guidance should be sought from chapter 8 of the Guide to Legislative Procedures.
Expenditure Committee meetings tend to follow a question and answer format with the members of the panel taking it in turns to ask the invited Ministers to answer questions on expenditure issues. Committee Secretaries work closely with Treasury colleagues to compile the papers and briefing for such Committees.