Cabinet Office

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the Cabinet Office in the United Kingdom. For other Cabinet Offices see Cabinet Office (disambiguation).

United Kingdom
This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the United Kingdom

Parliament State Opening of Parliament Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II House of Lords Lord Speaker: Baroness Hayman House of Commons Speaker: Michael Martin Prime Minister's Questions Her Majesty's Government Cabinet Prime Minister: Tony Blair Deputy Prime Minister: John Prescott Chancellor of the Exchequer: Gordon Brown Foreign Secretary: Margaret Beckett Home Secretary: John Reid Lord Chancellor: Lord Falconer of Thoroton The Privy Council Government departments The Civil Service Official Opposition Leader of the Opposition: David Cameron Shadow Cabinet Courts of the United Kingdom Courts of England and Wales Courts of Northern Ireland Courts of Scotland Constituent countries Scottish Parliament Scottish Executive National Assembly for Wales Welsh Assembly Government Northern Ireland Assembly Northern Ireland Executive Reserved matters Local government Greater London Authority Elections: 2001 - 2005 - 2009/10 Political parties Constitution Human rights Foreign relations EU Politics
Other countries • Politics Portal view • talk • edit

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.

1 Objectives
2 History
3 Current staff
4 Buildings
5 External links

[edit] 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

[edit] 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

[edit] Current staff

Executive agencies

The Central Office of Information co-ordinate government publications, and also produce public information films.

The Cabinet Office is currently headed by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and 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

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.

[edit] 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.