6 The Cabinet Manual
87. On 14 December 2010 the Cabinet Office published
the Cabinet Manual in draft for consultation. We welcome this
step.
88. The Cabinet Secretary has described the Cabinet
Manual as
the first, comprehensive account of the workings
of Cabinet Government [which] will consolidate the existing unwritten,
piecemeal conventions that govern much of the way central government
operates under our existing constitution into a single written
document.[102]
89. The December 2010 Cabinet Manual states that
it
is intended to be a source of information on the
UK's laws, conventions and rules, including those of a constitutional
nature, that affect the operation and procedures of government.
It is written from the perspective of the Executive branch of
government. It is not intended to have any legal effect or set
issues in stone. It is intended to guide, not to direct.[103]
90. While the Cabinet Manual as a whole was not originally
in the scope of this inquiry, several issues regarding the Cabinet
Manual have arisen in the course of our evidence-taking. In particular,
many of our recommendations draw on and suggest changes to the
Cabinet Manual draft chapter on Elections and Government Formation
that was originally published in February 2010. This illustrates
the potential significance of the Cabinet Manual. During our inquiry
we and our witnesses have raised questions about not only the
content of the Manual but its use and constitutional status. For
instance, in countries internationally, arrangements for government
transitions might be expected to be provided for in a codified
constitution, an entity that the UK lacks. It is important to
ask how far and effectively the Cabinet Manual can be seen as
potentially performing the role of de facto codified constitution
for the UK, and whether it is acceptable that it should do so.
We have therefore announced a broader inquiry into the Cabinet
Manual, intended initially to inform the consultation which ends
early in March 2011.
102 Justice Committee, Fifth Report of Session 2009-10,
Constitutional Processes Following a General Election,
HC 396 Back
103
Cabinet Office, The Cabinet Manual - Draft, December 2010,
p3 Back
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