3 USE
OF THE
CABINET MANUAL
AUDIENCE
29. At the launch of the draft Cabinet Manual in
February 2011, the then Cabinet Secretary, Sir Gus O'Donnell,
stated that he hoped the final version of the Manual would
help the public better understand how our democracy
works. I want it to bring the inner workings of government out
in the open and shed more light on how government relates to the
other branches of state.[34]
During this inquiry we examined the present use of
the Manual, and questioned whether the Manual as presently conceived
could effectively serve the purpose of a handbook for Ministers
and a guide for the public.
PUBLIC USE OF THE CABINET MANUAL
30. Professor Ian Cram told us that the Manual had
not been widely used by the public:
I am not sure that it has a very high level of
visibility in the public domain. I did a search of various media
organisations' websites—The Guardian, The Independent
and The Telegraph—to see how the Cabinet manual is
referenced, and it comes up very rarely indeed. What features
more is the ministerial code, which you probably would expect,
because it has been out there in the public domain. It is being
referenced more. The Cabinet manual, by contrast, does not have
that level of visibility.[35]
31. Even if it is the case that the Cabinet Manual
has thus far not been widely referred to in the press and visible
in the public domain, we recognise its potential importance in
cases where constitutional conventions are contested or where
rare or novel situations arise. One such situation, relatively
novel in 2010, is the process to be followed in the event of a
hung Parliament and any hiatus in the formation of a new administration.
In this connection Professor Hazell told us:
for me the most important chapter and the chapter
that does matter for the public is chapter 2, on elections and
government formation. … that crucially, for the first time
set out the key conventions that operate to guide the Sovereign
in choosing whom to appoint as a new Prime Minister and to guide
everyone involved in a new Parliament, especially if the election
outcome has been uncertain in terms of producing no overall winner.[36]
He went on to explain why he considered it important
for the public to be aware of this chapter:
I felt—and I was not alone—that it
was terribly important that the media, who are the main communicators
of this information to the public, as well as the public, should
clearly understand what the rules of the game would be after the
election. Before the election I, together with Peter Riddell of
the Institute for Government, did lots of briefings for different
sections of the media and also, because of the nervousness of
the markets, to different audiences in the City to explain to
them what would happen if there were a hung Parliament. So I think
chapter 2 is directed, importantly, to the public and the media
as well as the insiders.[37]
32. Sir Jeremy Heywood indicated the work the Cabinet
Office had undertaken in promoting public engagement with the
Manual and its contents:
I think it is probably a work in progress. There
has not been a huge pick-up of public interest in it. I think
it was primarily intended as a guide to Ministers and civil servants
and for those working closely with Government rather than for
the general public. I think I am right in saying that we have
had something like 5,000 hits on the website, if that is one measure
of the degree of public interest. But I think this will build
over time as the thing gets established, and it has only been
in place for a few years.[38]
USE BY MINISTERS
33. When they appeared before us in September 2014
to discuss the work of the Deputy Prime Minister on political
reform, the Deputy Prime Minister, Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP, and the
Minister of State for Universities, Science and Cities, Rt Hon
Greg Clark MP, both indicated the importance of the Cabinet Manual
to Ministers in the coalition.[39]
The Cabinet Secretary indicated the use made of the Manual by
Ministers and departments, though he could not quantify or illustrate
the particular use to which the Manual was put:
Copies of the Manual were sent to all Cabinet
Ministers and Permanent Secretaries on publication and I would
expect Departments to use the document as a guide to the operations
and procedures that it covers. I know that colleagues across the
Cabinet Office and the wider civil service find it a useful guide
and reference tool and it is being used in that way.[40]
No detailed analysis has been done on exactly
how Departments are using the document, so I am unable to provide
more specific information on that point, but I hope the relevance
of the Manual continues to be reflected in the evidence you receive
to your Inquiry.[41]
TWO VERSIONS OF THE MANUAL?
34. In the light of the apparently low level of public
awareness of the Cabinet Manual, Professor Ian Cram suggested
that two different versions of the Cabinet Manual might be created,
one for the general public and one for Ministers and Departments,
each tailored to the respective needs of each audience:
I do not think that is very successful within
a single document. For example, you could argue that it contains
too much detail at times in terms of what an interested member
of the public might want to see. There are details, for example,
on Cabinet Committee structures that seem to be way in excess
of what might be needed if you were an interested member of the
public. The document, I think, currently extends to over 100 pages,
and it is asking an awful lot of ordinary members of the public,
in their busy lives, to find the time to go through that.[42]
35. Sir Jeremy Heywood disagreed with the idea of
having two different versions:
I don't really support that, to be honest. I
think that this needs to be established as the manual and I hope
over time there will be more awareness of it, but I don't think
that greater public awareness of it would be helped if there were
two different versions. I personally would prefer to have just
one document.[43]
36. While we appreciate that having two different
versions of the Cabinet Manual, one aimed at the public and one
aimed at Government Ministers might encourage more use of the
document by the general public, we are concerned that this may
lead to inconsistencies between the two documents and take away
from the overall authority of the document as a whole. WE
DO NOT
RECOMMEND THAT
A SEPARATE
VERSION OF
THE CABINET
MANUAL BE
PRODUCED FOR
USE BY
THE GENERAL
PUBLIC.
CONCLUSIONS
ON USE
OF THE
MANUAL
37. We are disappointed to observe the apparently
limited interest in the Cabinet Manual, its purpose and its contents
from the general public. We agree with Professor Hazell that it
is important that the public and political commentators should
be aware "what the rules of the game would be after the election".[44]
More fundamentally, it is vital that the general public is as
well informed as possible about the basic functioning of the institutions
at the heart of government.
38. INSOFAR AS
THE CABINET
MANUAL DESCRIBES
'THE RULES
OF THE
GAME', ITS
MUST
BE MADE
MORE ACCESSIBLE
TO ALL.
IT IS
SURELY VITAL
TO A
PROPERLY-FUNCTIONING
DEMOCRACY THAT
THE PUBLIC
HAS ACCESS
TO CLEAR,
OBJECTIVE AND
UNAMBIGUOUS INFORMATION
ABOUT THE
PROCESS WHEREBY
ADMINISTRATIONS ARE
FORMED AND
THE ROLES
OF THE
KEY PLAYERS.
IN THE
RUN-UP
TO THE
DISSOLUTION OF
PARLIAMENT AND
THE 2015 GENERAL
ELECTION, THERE
IS NOW
CLEARLY NO
TIME TO
UNDERTAKE AN
EFFECTIVE PROGRAMME
OF PUBLIC
ENGAGEMENT ON
THIS PROCESS.
WE RECOMMEND
THAT THE
CABINET OFFICE
PLAN FOR
AN ENHANCED
PROGRAMME OF
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
ON THE
OF
THE CABINET
MANUAL FOLLOWING
THE 2015 GENERAL
ELECTION.
39. We are similarly disappointed that no more detailed
analysis has been done to assess how useful the Cabinet Manual
has been to Ministers, especially given that we have been told
that it is "primarily intended as a guide to Ministers and
civil servants and for those working closely with Government rather
than for the general public."[45]
WE RECOMMEND
THAT THE
GOVERNMENT COMMISSION
AN INTERNAL
ASSESSMENT OF
THE USEFULNESS
OF THE
CABINET MANUAL
TO MINISTERS
AND DEPARTMENTS
TO INFORM
ITS NEXT
REVISION.
34 Sir Gus O'Donnell, Speech to Constitution Unit public
seminar on the Cabinet Manual, 24 February 2011 Back
35
Q6 Back
36
Q39 Back
37
Q39 Back
38
Q77 Back
39
Oral evidence on The work of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2014
taken on 9 September 2014, HC 464, QQ20, 38 Back
40
Sir Jeremy Heywood (RCM 007) Back
41
Ibid. Back
42
Q2 Back
43
Q81 Back
44
Q39 Back
45
Q77 Back
|
