The British government is directed by the Cabinet, a group of senior government ministers led by the Prime Minister. Most of the day-to-day work of the Cabinet is carried out by Cabinet committees, rather than by the full Cabinet. Each committee has its own area of responsibility, and their decisions are binding on the entire Cabinet.
The details of the committee structure and membership are at the discretion of the Prime Minister.
Committee procedure
Committee membership is limited to ministers, but non-ministers may attend in some cases. In particular, the National Security Council is routinely attended by senior military, intelligence and security officials. Members of the Prime Minister's office – including the Prime Minister themselves – may attend any committee.
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. 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; Winston Churchill had previously announced a Standing Committee on National Expenditure in his 1925 Budget statement. 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. 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. The secrecy was due to the concern that public knowledge of Cabinet procedure would lead to a loss of faith in collective responsibility (if it became known that only a subset of the Cabinet had been involved in making a given decision) and undue pressure being put on committee chairs once their specific policy responsibilities became known. Whether decisions were made by the entire Cabinet, or by a committee, is not revealed at present.
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. 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. Departments who wish to make new primary legislation must apply to the committee for a slot in the legislative programme, as well as obtaining clearance from the relevant policy committee.
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. That subcommittee however has disestablished as of 2021.
Ad hoc committees
During the post-Second World War period, in addition to standing committees, there were ad hoc committees that were convened to handle a single issue. These were normally short-lived. Each was given a prefix of Gen or Misc and a number. Gen 183, for example, was the Committee on Subversive Activities. Between 1945 and 1964, Gen (for general) committees were sequentially numbered from 1 to 881 in order of formation.
Cabinet papers
Committee minutes and papers follow the same secrecy rules as for the full Cabinet. Notes taken at meetings for the purpose of preparing the official minutes are destroyed once the minutes have been written. The minutes do not generally link points made in discussion to the specific people who made them.
|Keir Starmer
|
|To consider issues relating to nuclear deterrence and security.
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|National Security Council (Europe)
|Keir Starmer
|David Lammy
|To consider matters of foreign policy and trade in relation to Europe.
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|National Security Council (Resilience)
|Keir Starmer
|
|To consider issues relating to resilience.
|-
|National Security Council (Economic Security)
|
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|To consider issues relating to economic security.
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|National Science and Technology Council
|Keir Starmer
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|To consider matters relating to strategic advantage through science and technology, and ensure R&D spend is managed effectively in accordance with plans and with impacts evaluated.
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|Domestic and Economic Affairs
|Keir Starmer
|
|To consider matters relating to the economy and to home affairs.
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|Domestic and Economic Affairs (Union)
|Keir Starmer
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|To consider matters relating to the Union of the United Kingdom.
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|Domestic and Economic Affairs (Energy, Climate and Net Zero)
|
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|To consider matters relating to energy, and to the delivery of the United Kingdom’s domestic and international climate strategy.
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|Parliamentary Business and Legislation
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|To consider matters relating to the Government's parliamentary business and delivery of its legislative programme.
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|Home Affairs Committee
|
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|To support collective agreement of matters relating to the implementation and delivery of domestic and economic policy.
|}
This table follows the document issued by the Cabinet Office in November 2022.
Mission boards
In addition to cabinet committees there are five Mission Boards on growth, clean energy, safer streets, opportunities and health. The Mission Boards are chaired by the respective lead Secretaries of State with a remit to oversee the relevant mission.
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 Joint Intelligence Committee is an official committee that directs and oversees the UK intelligence and security agencies.
- The Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council consists of the leaders of 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