United Kingdom cabinet committee
The executive arm of the United Kingdom government is controlled by the Cabinet, a group of senior government ministers chaired by the Prime Minister. The Cabinet has a group of committees called cabinet committees, which perform most of the day-to-day work of cabinet government.
The committee structure and membership is at the discretion of the Prime Minister, and there have been many changes since the Cabinet committee system was first developed in the early twentieth century. Although names of committees have changed, the committees for foreign and military policy, domestic policy, economic policy, and the government's legislative agenda have been more or less permanent fixtures. Some committees are standing committees, which have a broad remit; others are ad-hoc committees, which are established to deal with specific matters.
Ad-hoc committees are rarer now than throughout most of the twentieth century. Many matters are now expected to be resolved bilaterally between departments, or through more informal discussion, rather than requiring the formation of a committee.
Committee procedure
Committee membership is limited to ministers, but non-ministers may attend some committees[1]. In particular, the National Security Council is routinely attended by senior military, intelligence and security officials.
In the 2010 coalition government, each Cabinet committee includes members of both the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats. Furthermore, each committee has a Chair and a Deputy Chair, one from each party. There is a Coalition Committee, and an operational working group, to handle appeals over coalition disputes and to plan future policy.[1]
Former committees with non-ministers as full members include the Economic Advisory Council, whose membership was made up of a combination of ministers and experts in economics. The Committee of Imperial Defence, a parallel Cabinet for military policy which existed from 1904 until 1939, included ministers, heads of the armed services, and civil servants [2]. Between 1997 and 2001, there was a Ministerial Consultative Committee with the Liberal Democratic Party which included senior Liberal Democrats as well as Labour ministers.
Until 1992, the list of cabinet committees, their membership, and their terms of reference were secret, with rare exceptions. During the Second World War, details of the War Cabinet structure were communicated to Parliament [3]; Winston Churchill had previously announced a Standing Committee on National Expenditure in his 1925 Budget statement[4]. The existence and membership of the Defence and Overseas Policy Committee was announced in 1963, coinciding with the amalgamation of the service ministries into a single Ministry of Defence [5]. Margaret Thatcher confirmed the continuing existence of this committee in the House of Commons in 1979, along with standing committees for Economic Strategy, Home and Social Affairs, and Legislation[6].
It had been generally thought that public knowledge of Cabinet procedure would lead to a loss of faith in collective responsibility (since decisions would be revealed as having been taken by only a subset of the Cabinet) and undue pressure being put on committee chairs once it was known which policy areas they had specific responsibility for [7].
The parallel committees for civil servants follow a thirty-year secrecy rule with respect to their existence and membership [8].
Committees with special functions
Most committees exist for the coordination of policy in some specific area. Some committees, however, have a special role in managing government business, and accordingly have different procedures.
The Public Expenditure Committee (PEX) plays a central role in the allocation of government money to departments. It originated in 1981 under the informal title of "Star Chamber" as an ad-hoc committee (MISC 62) which could handle appeals over spending disputes, rather than having these be dealt with by the full Cabinet[9]. An appeal to Cabinet was still possible, but this right was rarely exercised. The original name refers to the Star Chamber court noted for its secret, arbitrary and brutal decisions[9]. The committee was made permanent under John Major, under the name "EDX", and placed under the chairmanship of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. From 1998 to 2010 the same committee (by then called "PX", and later "PSX") also monitored departments' fulfillment of Public Service Agreements[8]. While such agreements are no longer used, the committee retains its role in examining departmental expenditure, and will advise Cabinet on the allocation each department is to receive.
The Legislation committee allocates time for government bills to be considered in Parliament, coordinates the writing and handling of these bills in general, and is responsible for the Queen's Speech. Previously, there had been two committees, one for considering future legislation and another to deal with bills during their passage through Parliament[10]. Departments who wish to make new primary legislation must apply to the committee for a slot in the legislative programme [11].
In an emergency, the National Security Council (Threats, Hazards, Resilience and Contingencies) subcommittee can meet in an operational configuration. This arrangement was previously named as the Civil Contingencies Committee. In this case, the chair is taken by the minister for whichever government department is the "lead" for the emergency in question.
Cabinet papers
Committee minutes and papers follow the same secrecy rules as for the full Cabinet[7]. Documents are generally handled on a need-to-know basis, and so may not be available to ministers who do not serve on the relevant committee. Some materials may be classified as being available exclusively to the named members of the committee, and particularly sensitive papers may be kept in a secure room and read only under supervision. Papers may be distributed physically or electronically (via the Government Secure Intranet).[12] Notes taken at meetings for the purpose of preparing the official minutes are destroyed once the minutes have been written [13].
Future governments may not be permitted to see the cabinet papers of their predecessors, if there has been a change of party. Access in this case requires the approval of the former Prime Minister, or of the Leader of the Opposition. The few exceptions relate to papers of an expressly non-political nature, such as legal advice or international agreements. Retired ministers wishing to write their memoirs are given access to papers from their tenure, but are usually forbidden from removing them from the Cabinet Office archive.
Current committees
| Name | Chair | Deputy Chair | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coalition Committee | David Cameron, Nick Clegg | William Hague, Chris Huhne | |
| Coalition Operation and Strategic Planning Group | Oliver Letwin, Danny Alexander | none | Not a "committee" but a "working group" |
| National Security Council | David Cameron | Nick Clegg | |
| → NSC (Threats, Hazards, Resilience and Contingencies) | David Cameron | Nick Clegg | Restricted attendance possible; also has an "operational" configuration |
| → NSC (Nuclear Deterrence and Security) | David Cameron | Nick Clegg | Restricted attendance |
| → NSC (Emerging Powers) | William Hague | Vince Cable | |
| European Affairs Committee | William Hague | Chris Huhne | |
| Social Justice Committee | Iain Duncan Smith | Danny Alexander | |
| → Child Poverty sub-committee | Sarah Teather | Maria Miller | |
| Home Affairs Committee | Nick Clegg | Kenneth Clarke | |
| → Public Health sub-committee | Andrew Lansley | Danny Alexander | |
| → Olympics sub-committee | Francis Maude | Danny Alexander | |
| Economic Affairs Committee | George Osborne | Vince Cable | |
| → Reducing Regulation sub-committee | Vince Cable | Philip Hammond | |
| Banking Reform Committee | George Osborne | Vince Cable | |
| Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee | Sir George Young | David Heath | |
| Public Expenditure Committee | George Osborne | Danny Alexander |
This table follows the document issued by the Cabinet Office in September 2010 [1].
Non-Cabinet committees
There are several committees for which the Cabinet Office is administratively responsible, but which are not Cabinet committees. These include the various 'official' committees, which mostly shadow the Cabinet committees but with civil servants rather than ministers as members. Some others are:
- The Coalition Operation and Strategic Planning Group is described as a "working group", rather than a full committee; its function is to "consider and resolve issues relating to the operation of the coalition agreement, the longer term strategic planning of Government Business and to report as necessary to the Coalition Committee"[1].
- The Joint Intelligence Committee is an official committee that directs and oversees the UK intelligence and security agencies.
- The Intelligence and Security Committee reviews the expenditure, administration and policies of the intelligence and security agencies. Its nine members come from the House of Commons or House of Lords, are not allowed to be ministers, and between them represent several political parties.
- The Joint Ministerial Committee consists of ministers and officials from the UK and devolved administrations. Its secretariat is provided by the Cabinet Office but it is not a Cabinet committee.
- The Permanent Secretaries Management Group and Civil Service Steering Board are committees of the senior civil service, housed within the Cabinet Office.
Historical statistics
An approximate count of committees up to and during the Second World War was given by Wilson[2] as follows.
| Period | Parent body | Number of committees | Aggregate number of meetings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1917–1922 | Cabinet | 160 | 990 |
| Committee of Imperial Defence | 11 | 120 | |
| 1923-September 1939 | Cabinet | 379 | 1990 |
| Committee of Imperial Defence | 275 | 3400 | |
| Committee on Civil Research and Economic Advisory Council | 70 | 900 | |
| September 1939-July 1945 | War Cabinet | 292 | 5440 |
| Chiefs of Staff | 45 | 3050 | |
| Ad-hoc committees | 90 | 210 |
This excludes committees which did not have at least one meeting (several of these existed solely as a means for documents to be circulated among the members). The 1939-45 figures do not include the Joint Intelligence Committee, Joint Planning Staff, or the Combined Chiefs of Staff.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Cabinet Committee System (September 2010)
- ^ a b Wilson, Stephen (1975). The Cabinet Office to 1945. HMSO.
- ^ HC Deb 04 June 1940 vol 361 cols 768-771
- ^ HC Deb 28 April 1925 vol 183 cols 58-60
- ^ Command Paper 2097 (1963). Central Organisation for Defence.
- ^ HC Deb 24 May 1979 vol 967 c179W
- ^ a b Brazier, David (1999). Constitutional Practice: The Foundations of British Government. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198298120.
- ^ a b James, Simon (1999). British Cabinet Government. Routledge. ISBN 9780415179775.
- ^ a b Thain, Colin (1995). The Treasury and Whitehall: the planning and control of public expenditure. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198277842.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Mackintosh, John (1991). The British Cabinet. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780416313802.
- ^ Guide to Making Legislation, Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat, Cabinet Office
- ^ Cabinet Document Officers' Handbook (73kb PDF)
- ^ HL Deb 03 February 1994 vol 551 cc103–4 WA