CAB129-52 — Page 34

QUESTIONS OF PROCEDURE FOR MINISTERS

I. Cabinet Procedure

Preparation of Business for the Cabinet

1. The business of the Cabinet consists, in the main, of:-

(i) Questions which engage the collective responsibility of the Government, either because they raise major issues of policy or because they are likely to occasion public comment or criticism.

(ii) Questions on which there is an unresolved conflict of interest between

Departments.

All questions involving more than one Department should be examined inter- departmentally, before submission to Cabinet, so that the decisions required may be clearly defined. When there is a conflict of interest between Departments, it should not be referred to the Cabinet until all other means of resolving it have been exhausted, including personal correspondence or discussion between the Ministers concerned.

2. Proposals which involve expenditure or affect general financial or economic policy should be discussed with the Treasury—and, if agreement cannot be reached between officials, with the Chancellor of the Exchequer before they are submitted to the Cabinet or to a Ministerial Committee; and the result of those discussions should be indicated in the memorandum.

3. Matters which fall wholly within the Departmental responsibility of a single Minister and do not engage the collective responsibility of the Government need not be brought to Cabinet at all. A precise definition of such matters cannot be given, and in borderline cases a Minister is well advised to bring the matter before his colleagues.

4. These rules do not limit the right of Ministers to submit to the Cabinet memoranda setting out their views on general issues of policy.

5. When a Minister wishes to raise a matter orally at the Cabinet, the Prime Minister's consent should be sought through the Secretary of the Cabinet.

6. Memoranda for the Cabinet should be as brief and as clear as possible. Time spent in making a memorandum short and clear will be saved many times over in reading and in discussion; and it is the duty of Ministers to ensure that this is done by personal scrutiny and, where necessary, revision of memoranda submitted to them by their officials.

The model memorandum explains at the outset what the problem is, indicates briefly the relevant considerations, and concludes with a precise statement of the decisions sought. It is sometimes useful to include a summary of the main points brought out in the body of the memorandum, but such a summary should never exceed a few lines. Prefatory covering notes should be avoided. To facilitate reference in discussion, paragraphs should be numbered.

If it is necessary to refer repeatedly to a body with a long title, an abbreviated version may be used if on the first mention the full title is given and the abbreviation added in brackets, e.g., "The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (N.A.T.O.).”

7. Save with the Prime Minister's permission, which will be granted only for reasons of extreme urgency, a memorandum may not be set down on the Agenda for discussion by the Cabinet until two working days after it was circulated.

8. Cabinet memoranda (as distinct from memoranda for Cabinet Committees) are normally reproduced by the Cabinet Office, the text being sent by the originating Department to the Cabinet Office for the purpose. If for any reason a Cabinet memorandum is reproduced by the originating Department, all copies should be sent to the Cabinet Office, and application should be made to the Cabinet Office for any additional copies required by the reproducing Department. The same rule applies

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Ragnetofna reproduced by Departments for consideration Pag Cabinet 200m- mittees: all copies made should be sent to the Cabinet Office for circulation. If an originating Department so wishes, a standing arrangement may be made whereby the Cabinet Office will automatically supply for its use a fixed number of additional copies of memoranda.

9. In no circumstances, other than those mentioned in the preceding para- graph, are Cabinet memoranda to be reproduced or copied in Departments. If a Department requires additional copies of a memorandum, application must in every case be made to the Cabinet Office.

Attendance at Cabinet

10. Cabinet meetings take precedence over all other business. If a member of the Cabinet, or a Minister summoned for a particular item, is unable for any reason to be present at a Cabinet meeting, he should notify the Secretary, who will inform the Prime Minister and will also consider whether any rearrangement of business is required.

11. Ministers' private secretaries can help the Secretary of the Cabinet by indicating, when asking for a subject to be placed on the Cabinet's Agenda, which Ministers other than members of the Cabinet are likely to be concerned, so that arrangements may be made for their attendance.

12. The Prime Minister's Private Secretary is responsible for ensuring that the proceedings of the Cabinet are not disturbed. To assist him, Ministers should give instructions that messages are not to be sent to them while in Cabinet unless they are so urgent that they cannot wait until the end of the meeting.

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13. The Secretary should be informed of Ministers' out-of-town engagements, and also of their week-end and holiday arrangements so that, if some sudden emergency arises, he may be able to inform the Prime Minister at once which Ministers are immediately available.

Cabinet Conclusions

14. The record of the Cabinet's proceedings is limited to the decisions taken and such summary of the discussion as may be necessary for the guidance of those who have to take action on them. The Secretary is under instructions to avoid, so far as practicable, recording the opinions expressed by particular Ministers. Matters of exceptional secrecy may be recorded in a Confidential Annex.

15. Any suggestions for amendment of Cabinet. Conclusions must reach the Secretary not later than the next day but one following that on which the Meeting was held. Thereafter the Conclusions will be sent to be printed.

16. Ministers are responsible for giving such instructions to their Departments às may be necessary to give effect to the Conclusions of the Cabinet, and for com- municating to subordinate Departments or branches decisions of which they should be made aware. Where an urgent matter arises in Cabinet unexpectedly, and a decision is reached requiring immediate action by a Department not represented at the meeting, the Secretary will ensure that the Department concerned is notified forthwith.

17. When a Department has to take action upon, or is otherwise directly affected by, a particular Conclusion, the actual decisions of the Cabinet on that matter may be copied in the Department, together with so much of the record of the discussion as is essential to a proper understanding of them, and these extracts may be passed to responsible officers in the Department, as may be necessary. The distribution of such extracts within a Department should be limited to the occasions on which it is strictly necessary for the efficient discharge of public business, and care should be taken to see that extracts are sent only to those officers of the Depart- ment who need be acquainted with the actual terms of the decision. Where action has to be taken at once by a Department, application may be made to the Secretary for an advance copy of the relevant Conclusions.

Return of Cabinet Documents

18. Cabinet documents are the property of the Crown. Ministers relinquish- ing office should hand over to their successors those Cabinet documents which are required for current administration and should return all others to the Cabinet Page 35 of 200

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