Cabinet Secretary

Cabinet Secretary
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^ "Simon Case appointed as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service" . gov.uk . Retrieved 2 September 2020 .

^ "Development of Cabinet government" . The National Archives.

^ Sampson, Anthony (1982). The Changing Anatomy of Britain . Anatomy of Britain. Hodder and Stoughton . p. 171. ISBN 0-340-20964-X .

^ Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (15 June 2005). "Sir Gus O'Donnell" . Downing Street Says (unofficial record) . Archived from the original on 13 July 2005 . Retrieved 22 December 2011 .

^ HM Government (11 October 2011). "Cabinet Secretary announces retirement" . Number 10 website . Retrieved 22 December 2011 .

^ Civil Service Live Network. "Kerslake to head the civil service with promise of 'visible leadership' " . Archived from the original on 11 July 2012 . Retrieved 1 January 2012 .

The Cabinet Secretary is the most senior civil servant in the United Kingdom , and is based in the Cabinet Office . The person in this role acts as the senior policy adviser to the prime minister and Cabinet and as the secretary to the Cabinet, is responsible to all ministers for the efficient running of government. The role is currently occupied by Simon Case . [1]

The position of cabinet secretary was created in 1916 for Sir Maurice Hankey , when the existing secretariat of the Committee of Imperial Defence , headed by Hankey, became secretariat to a newly organised War Cabinet . [2]

Since 1981 [3] (except for a period 2011–2014), the position of cabinet secretary has been combined with the role of Head of the Home Civil Service . The cabinet secretary used to also hold the position of the permanent secretary of the Cabinet Office , but this has been passed to the chief executive of the civil service. The first means that the cabinet secretary is responsible for all the civil servants of the various departments within government (except the Foreign Office ), chairing the Permanent Secretaries Management Group (PSMG) which is the principal governing body of the civil service. The second means that the cabinet secretary is responsible for leading the government department that provides administrative support to the prime minister and Cabinet. The post is appointed by the prime minister with the advice of the out-going cabinet secretary and the First Civil Service Commissioner . [4]

The responsibilities of the job vary from time to time and depend very much on the personal qualities of both the prime minister and cabinet secretary of the day. In most cases the true influence of the cabinet secretary extends far beyond administrative matters, and reaches to the very heart of the decision-making process. For instance, the cabinet secretary is responsible for administering the Ministerial Code which governs the conduct of ministers (also known as the Rule Book and formerly Questions of Procedure for Ministers ). In this duty the cabinet secretary may be asked to investigate leaks within government, and enforce Cabinet discipline. Unusually in a democracy, this gives the unelected cabinet secretary some authority over elected ministers (a situation satirised in the BBC sitcom Yes, Prime Minister ), although the constitutional authority of the code is somewhat ambiguous.

The cabinet secretary is responsible for overseeing the intelligence services and their relationship to the government, though since 2002 this responsibility has been delegated to a full-time role (initially as Security and Intelligence Co-ordinator , now the Head of Intelligence, Security & Resilience working to the National Security Adviser ), with the cabinet secretary focussing on civil service reforms to help deliver the government's policy programme.

It was announced on 11 October 2011 that Gus O'Donnell would retire at the end of 2011, and following this the three roles then performed by the cabinet secretary would be split: the cabinet secretary would provide policy advice to the prime minister and Cabinet; the Head of the Civil Service would provide leadership for the whole civil service; and the permanent secretary would oversee the Cabinet Office. [5] It was announced later that the officeholders would be Jeremy Heywood as cabinet secretary, Bob Kerslake as Head of the Civil Service, and Ian Watmore as permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office . [6]

In July 2014 it was announced that Kerslake would step down and Heywood would take the title of head of the Civil Service with a chief executive of the Civil Service reporting to Heywood and holding Watmore's post at the Cabinet Office. Heywood's retirement on health grounds was announced on 24 October 2018, and he was replaced by Mark Sedwill .

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Home > Explainers > Cabinet secretary

Cabinet Office and Prime Minister's Office,10 Downing Street, Simon Case appointed as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service, press release, 1 September 2020, www.gov.uk/government/news/simon-case-appointed-as-cabinet-secretary-and-head-of-the-civil-service

241, The Cabinet Office and the Centre of Government, Lords Constitution Committee, 6 January 2010, https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200910/ldselect/ldconst/30/3006.htm#a28

CSQ interview: Sir Mark Sedwill, Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service, Civil Service Quarterly , 13 February 2020, https://quarterly.blog.gov.uk/2020/02/13/the-csq-interview-sir-mark-sedwill-cabinet-secretary-and-head-of-the-civil-service/

Blair picks security services co-ordinator, The Guardian , 21 June 2002, www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/jun/21/uk.military

Cabinet Office, Senior officials 'high earners' salaries as at 30 September 2020, www.gov.uk/government/publications/senior-officials-high-earners-salaries

The cabinet secretary is the most senior civil service adviser to the prime minister and cabinet. Their formal role is to support and advise on the running of cabinet and cabinet committees and to support the government in reaching a collective agreement on policies. They often act as one of the prime minister’s senior advisers on the working of government and on major policy decisions . They also work very closely with the most senior ministers in government, advising the prime minister on priority issues and ensuring that the rest of the civil service works to deliver those priorities.

The relationship between the prime minister and cabinet secretary, and how they decide to work together, makes a big difference to the cabinet secretary’s influence. [1] The role of cabinet secretary is the most senior in the civil service. It is usually the post-holder’s last within the civil service, though Edward Bridges, who was cabinet secretary during the Second World War, stayed on to become permanent secretary to the Treasury for 10 years.

The current cabinet secretary is Simon Case, replacing Sir Mark Sedwill who stepped down in September 2020. Case has been the private secretary to the Duke of Cambridge and most recently was the permanent secretary at Number 10.

Like Sedwill, Simon Case has not held a major economic or Treasury role, unlike many previous cabinet secretaries. Unlike Sedwill, he has not run a department himself or taken the lead on a major project. However, he does have significant experience at the centre of government as the principal private secretary to David Cameron and Theresa May, and as head of Cameron’s implementation unit in the Cabinet Office. .

The modern cabinet secretary has to cover a number of different functions. In 2015 former cabinet secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood identified eight roles:

Secretary to the cabinet
This role involves helping prepare the agenda and papers for cabinet and cabinet committees, supporting ministerial chairs with the process of collective decision making. They are supported in this role by the cabinet secretariat in the Cabinet Office. Departments or the centre propose items for discussion, but the prime minister ultimately decides the agenda for cabinet. The cabinet secretary and their team prepare the papers, minute the discussion, decisions and agreements. The cabinet secretary oversees cross-Whitehall correspondence and papers where decisions need collective agreement.

Many cabinet secretaries, including Heywood, Sedwill and now Simon Case, have also been head of the civil service, which involves:

Often, but not always. After Sir Gus O’Donnell stepped down as cabinet secretary in 2011 his role was split, with Sir Bob Kerslake becoming the separate head of the civil service, and Sir Jeremy Heywood succeeding as cabinet secretary. However, Heywood took over from Kerslake in 2014, again combining the two posts. The cabinet secretary is supported in this position by the chief executive of the civil service or, from 2020, a chief operating officer, currently Alex Chisholm.

Yes, former cabinet secretary Sir Mark Sedwill was also the national security adviser .

Sedwill kept this role when he became cabinet secretary. Although he argued the roles were complementary, and many of his predecessors combined the functions, Sedwill was criticised for holding three demanding roles – cabinet secretary, head of the civil service and national security adviser – at the same time. Simon Case does not hold the role of national security adviser.

Former cabinet secretaries during the Cold War were also senior advisers on intelligence matters and on nuclear war planning. It was only in 2002 that the role of intelligence and security co-ordinator was made distinct from the cabinet secretary. [2] The cabinet secretary is also the accounting officer for the Single Intelligence Account, the funding of the UK’s three main intelligence agencies.

No. Sir Mark Sedwill was appointed National Security Adviser in 2017 and kept this role when he became cabinet secretary. Sedwill has been criticised for holding three demanding roles – cabinet secretary, head of the civil service and national security adviser – at the same time, but he has argued the roles are complementary [3] and many of his predecessors combined the functions.

Former cabinet secretaries during the Cold War were also senior advisers on intelligence matters and on nuclear war planning. It was only in 2002 that the role of intelligence and security coordinator was made distinct from the cabinet secretary. [4] The cabinet secretary is also the accounting officer for the Single Intelligence Account, the funding of the UK’s three main intelligence agencies.

There is no standard process for appointing a cabinet secretary. Many former cabinet secretaries were appointed directly by the prime minister, sometimes on the recommendation of the outgoing cabinet secretary. In recent years, some cabinet secretary appointments have involved a slightly more formal process with the prime minister interviewing a range of candidates.

The appointment process is overseen by the first civil service commissioner, who is responsible for regulating civil service recruitment. As with any other civil service position, the cabinet secretary’s appointment must be ‘on merit on the basis of fair and open competition’ according to the 2010 Constitutional Reform and Governance Act, and should not be a political appointment.

The first civil service commissioner (Ian Watmore) led a competition to appoint a new cabinet secretary after Sedwill stood down, inviting existing or former permanent secretaries to apply for the role. Reporting at the time suggested that Simon Case did not apply, but was asked to take on the job directly by the prime minister.

As of September 2020, the cabinet secretary was paid between £200,000 and £204,999, which was the fifth highest paid civil service role in the Cabinet Office. [5]

Under the principle of ministerial accountability, it is government ministers who are accountable to parliament for the actions of the government, including the officials working for them. As such, the cabinet secretary is effectively held to account via the ministers they work for, primarily the prime minister who is also Minister for the Civil Service.

But like other senior officials, the cabinet secretary does appear before parliamentary select committees in their own right to answer questions on their work. The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) has questioned Sir Mark Sedwill and his predecessor, Sir Jeremy Heywood, a number of times in recent years, on topics including Brexit preparations, the effectiveness of the civil service and the role of the cabinet secretary.

The government’s Lead Non-Executive Director is responsible for the annual appraisal of the cabinet secretary. They gather and deliver feedback from ministers and senior civil servants that work alongside the cabinet secretary.

Ministers are not generally able to fire civil servants. This principle is to protect the impartiality of the civil service, though ministers have at times complained that this undermines their control over departments and too easily protects poor performance.

However, without the confidence of the prime minister a cabinet secretary would find their position untenable. When relationships have broken down in the past, differences have usually played out in private, though both Richard Wilson as cabinet secretary and Sir Bob Kerslake as head of the home civil service found themselves subject to negative briefings in the media. No cabinet secretary has ever been forced from their role.
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The Cabinet Secretary

Home The Cabinet Secretary

Copyright 2018 Government of Jamaica. All Rights Reserved.
Ambassador Douglas Saunders became Cabinet secretary in 2008.
Ambassador Saunders graduated Jamaica College in 1967. He graduated the University of the West Indies in 1972 holding a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Management Studies.
He is also the holder of certification in diplomacy from Oxford University and is a Pope Paul VI Scholar of St. John’s University in New York where he earned a Masters Degree in Government and Politics, majoring in International Relations in 1981.
He begun public service career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade and served in different capacities over thirty years;
Counsellor (Economic Affairs) at the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York; Deputy Director of Foreign Trade;
Deputy High Commissioner in London to Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Spain and Portugal; Director of European Affairs;
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Cuba, the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, the Republic of France, Ireland as well as High Commissioner to the Republic of South Africa.
In 2002, he was appointed Permanent Secretary.
The Cabinet Secretary is the most senior policy adviser in the civil service. He is secretary to the cabinet, responsible to all ministers for the running of Cabinet and is also the head of the civil service.
As Secretary to the Cabinet he provides support and advice to the government and oversees the provision of policy and secretariat support to Cabinet and Cabinet Committees. He organises the minutes of the Cabinet and conveys decisions of the Cabinet.
As Head of the Public Service, he is responsible for developing a highly professional public service able to effectively execute government business.
As Head of the Permanent Secretaries Board, he is responsible for guiding the execution of Ministry plans that align with government’s priorities.

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