Secretariats website
Last updated: 06 May 2009
The membership and terms of reference of Cabinet Committees are published approximately every six months. This is the only information that is routinely made publicly available. Papers or information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet or Cabinet Committees, or any briefing or correspondence relating to them, are generally classified Restricted or above, and are not suitable for public disclosure.
Even within a Department, papers and minutes relating to Cabinet Committees should only be shared with those officials who justifiably need to see them (i.e. for briefing / taking forward actions). The distribution of documents relating to Cabinet Committees is carefully controlled as explained in the section on Cabcom, Cabinet Documents Officers and Distribution of Committee Papers and Minutes.
Responsibility for answering Parliamentary Questions (PQs) about Cabinet and the Cabinet Committee system lies with the Prime Minister. In some cases a Cabinet Office Minister may answer on his behalf. Departments must therefore refer to Number 10 or the Cabinet Office all questions about the operation of the Cabinet, the Cabinet Committee system as a whole, or the membership or terms of reference of the Committees, frequency of meetings or about what Committees have discussed.
It has been the practice of successive governments not to disclose the details of Cabinet Committee proceedings.
The Freedom of Information Act applies to Cabinet and Cabinet Committees. The Ministry of Justice has published a Working Assumption which provides guidance about the Freedom of Information Act and Cabinet and Cabinet Committee information. This is available on the FOI website [External PDF].
This explains that although Cabinet and Cabinet Committee papers may, in certain very limited circumstances, be released or that their release may be ordered on review, in the vast majority of cases they will not be released. This is because the disclosure of these papers will put at risk the public interest in both collective responsibility and the full and frank discussion of policy by Ministers.
As the Working Assumption states, all Cabinet and Committee papers should be held by Cabinet Office. Any request for Cabinet or Cabinet Committee Papers (whether or not the lead Department holds the papers) should therefore be referred to the Ministry of Justice Clearing House who will record the request and contact Cabinet Office.
Questions about FOI and Cabinet and Cabinet Committee information should be directed to the FOI Liaison Officer in the Secretariat on (020) 7276 2469.