1 BACKGROUND
OUR
INQUIRY
1. This Committee first undertook scrutiny of the
Cabinet Manual in 2010, following the publication of the draft
Manual for public consultation. In our report on that exercise,
published in March 2011, we considered the status of the Manual
and the implications it might have for the United Kingdom's uncodified
constitution. We indicated our intention "to monitor closely
how the Cabinet Manual develops, and how it is used both within
and beyond Government during the life of this Parliament."[1]
2. In February 2014 we launched a follow-up inquiry
to examine how the Manual was being used in practice and to consider
what additions and changes might be necessary at its revision.
The full terms of reference for the inquiry were:
· To what extent were the concerns raised
in the Committee's original report on the Cabinet Manual addressed
when the final version of the Manual was published in October
2011?
· How is the Cabinet Manual being used,
both within and outside Government?
· The Gov.uk website states: "The Manual
is primarily intended to provide a guide for members of Cabinet,
other Ministers and civil servants in the carrying out of government
business, but will also serve to bring about greater transparency
about the mechanisms of government." How well is the Manual
achieving these aims?
· How often should the Cabinet Manual be
revised?
· What should be the process for revising
the Cabinet Manual, and what should be the role of Parliament
in this process?
· Which, if any, parts of the current Manual
need revising?
· What, if any, new material should be included
in the next edition of the Cabinet Manual?
ORIGINS
OF THE
CABINET MANUAL
3. In February 2010 the then Prime Minister, Rt Hon
Gordon Brown MP, announced a project "to consolidate the
existing unwritten, piecemeal conventions that govern much of
the way central government operates under our existing constitution
into a single written document".[2]
That document is the Cabinet Manual.
4. Professor Robert Hazell, from University College
London, who had been involved in the Cabinet Manual project from
its origin, explained to us some of the reasoning behind Gordon
Brown's decision: it had been apparent before the 2010 General
Election that there was an "urgent need for better public
guidance on what would happen in the event of a hung Parliament."[3]
A draft of what is now Chapter 2 of the Manual, dealing with elections
and government formation, was published in February 2010. The
Justice Committee of the House of Commons was given the opportunity
to scrutinise this chapter and make recommendations on its content
in advance of the General Election to be held later in 2010.[4]
5. Following the General Election of May 2010 the
Cabinet Office published a full draft version of the Cabinet Manual.
The then Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell (now Lord O'Donnell)
stated in the foreword to the draft that:
The Cabinet Manual is intended to be a source
of information on the UK's law, conventions and rules, including
those of a constitutional nature, that affect the operation and
procedures of government.[5]
A public consultation was launched on the draft,
and scrutiny of the draft document was undertaken by three Parliamentary
committees, including by this Committee. Our earlier report, Constitutional
Implications of the Cabinet Manual,[6]
focused on the status of the Manual and its implications for the
UK's un-codified constitution.
6. The first edition of the Manual was published
in October 2011.[7] In
his preface to the document, the then Cabinet Secretary acknowledged
the contribution of the three Parliamentary committees, as well
as constitutional experts, interest groups and members of the
public, to the editorial process behind the first edition: the
process had been "extremely valuable in identifying areas
of controversy, errors or omissions, and areas where the draft
could be improved. On the whole, the process also demonstrated
general support for the principle of the Cabinet Manual and the
contents of the draft."[8]
7. In the preface, Sir Gus O'Donnell stated that
the revised text incorporated "important changes to aid understanding
of the contents-in particular extensive references and links
to more detailed guidance, and a glossary."[9]
The first edition of the Manual was intended "primarily as
a guide for those working in government, recording the current
position rather than driving change. It is not intended to be
legally binding or to set issues in stone. The Cabinet Manual
records rules and practices, but is not intended to be the source
of any rule."[10]
We comment further on the purpose of the Manual and its intended
use and audience below.
1 Political and Constitutional Reform Committee, Sixth
Report of Session 2010-11, Constitutional Implications of the
Cabinet Manual, HC 734, para 41 Back
2
Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, "Towards a new politics", speech
to the Institute for Public Policy research, 2 February 2010 Back
3
Q38 Back
4
Justice Committee, Fifth Report of Session 2009-10, Constitutional
Processes following a General Election, HC 396 Back
5
Draft Cabinet Manual, December 2010, Foreword Back
6
Political and Constitutional Reform Committee, Sixth Report of
Session 2010-11, Constitutional Implications of the Cabinet
Manual, HC 734 Back
7
Cabinet Manual, First Edition, October 2011 Back
8
Ibid., Preface Back
9
Ibid. Back
10
Ibid. Back
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