Cabinet Office


The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objectives via other departments. It currently has just under 8,000 staff, some of whom work in Whitehall. Staff working in the Prime Minister's Office are part of the Cabinet Office.

Responsibilities

The Cabinet Office's core functions are:
The Cabinet Office has responsibility for the following at a UK national level:
Its main counterparts in the devolved nations are as follows:
Scotland
Northern Ireland
Wales

History

The department was formed in December 1916 from the secretariat of the Committee of Imperial Defence under Sir Maurice Hankey, the first Cabinet Secretary.
Traditionally the most important part of the Cabinet Office's role was facilitating collective decision-making by the Cabinet, through running and supporting Cabinet-level committees. This is still its principal role, but since the absorption of some of the functions of the Civil Service Department in 1981 the Cabinet Office has also helped to ensure that a wide range of Ministerial priorities are taken forward across Whitehall.
It also contains miscellaneous units that do not sit well in other departments. For example:
In modern times the Cabinet Office often takes on responsibility for areas of policy which are the priority of the Government of the time. The units that administer these areas migrate in and out of the Cabinet Office as government priorities change.

Ministers

The Cabinet Office Ministers are as follows:
MinisterRankPortfolio
The Rt Hon. Boris Johnson MPPrime Minister
First Lord of the Treasury
Minister for the Civil Service
Minister for the Union		Head of government; oversees the operation of the Civil Service and government agencies; appoints members of the government; he is the principal government figure in the House of Commons.
The Rt Hon. Michael Gove MPMinister for the Cabinet Office
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster		Advising the Prime Minister on developing and implementing government policy; driving forward government business and implementation including chairing and deputy chairing Cabinet committees and implementation taskforces; overseeing devolution consequences of EU exit; overseeing constitutional affairs and maintaining the integrity of the Union.
The Rt Hon. The Baroness Evans of Bowes ParkLeader of the House of Lords
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal		The Leader of the House of Lords is responsible for the organisation of government business in the House, providing assistance to all Lords and offering advice on procedure. The Leader also expresses the collective feelings of the House on formal occasions, such as motions of thanks or congratulations.
The Rt Hon. Amanda Milling MPMinister without PortfolioSupporting the Cabinet Office; The Minister without Portfolio is a member of Cabinet.
The Rt Hon. Jacob Rees-Mogg MPLeader of the House of Commons
Lord President of the Council		The Leader of the House of Commons organises government business in the House of Commons and works closely with the government's Chief Whip.
Honorary Commander The Rt Hon. Penny Mordaunt MPPaymaster GeneralTBD
Chloe Smith MPMinister of State for the Constitution and DevolutionTBD
The Rt Hon. The Lord Agnew of OultonMinister of State TBD
The Rt Hon. The Lord TrueMinister of StateTBD
Julia Lopez MPParliamentary Secretary, Minister for ImplementationTBD
Johnny Mercer MPParliamentary Under-Secretary of State Civilian and service personnel policy, armed forces pay, pensions and compensation, Armed Forces Covenant, welfare and service families; community engagement, equality, diversity and inclusion, veterans, legacy issues and non-operational public inquiries and inquests, mental health, Defence Medical Services
the people programme, estates service family accommodation policy and engagement with welfare.

The Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service is Sir Mark Sedwill; the Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive of the Home Civil Service is Sir John Manzoni; the Chief Negotiator of Task Force Europe is the Prime Minister's Europe Adviser, David Frost.
The Cabinet Office also supports the work of:
Cabinet committees have two key purposes:
The main building of the Cabinet Office is at 70 Whitehall, adjacent to Downing Street. The building connects three historically distinct properties, as well as the remains of Henry VIII's 1530 tennis courts, part of the Palace of Whitehall, which can be seen within the building. The Whitehall frontage was designed by Sir John Soane and completed by Sir Charles Barry between 1845 and 1847 as the Treasury Buildings. Immediately to the west Dorset House connects the front of the building to William Kent's Treasury, which faces out onto Horse Guards Parade. The latter is built over the site of the Cockpit, used for cock fighting in the Tudor period, and subsequently as a theatre. In the early 1960s the buildings were restored and many of the Tudor remains were exposed and repaired. Significant renovations between 2010 and 2016 converted many of the floors to open plan and created new office space. The Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms are located on this site.
The department occupies other buildings in Whitehall and the surrounding area, including part of 1 Horse Guards, as well as sites in other parts of the country.