Cabinet committees

What are cabinet committees?

Cabinet committees are groups of ministers that can “take collective decisions that are binding across government”. ¹² Cabinet Office, List of Cabinet Committees, GOV.UK, 16 September 2010, retrieved on 18 March 2020, www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-cabinet-committees-system-and-list-of-cabinet-committees  They are partly designed to reduce the burden on the full cabinet by allowing smaller groups of ministers to take decisions on specific policy areas. Cabinet committees have been in use since the early 20th century. Some committees meet in person to discuss issues; however, many committees make decisions by correspondence, with ministers “writing round” to each other to seek agreement to their proposals.

Cabinet committees can be used for detailed discussion and decision-making, or merely to rubberstamp decisions made elsewhere, depending on the disposition of the prime minister.

Cabinet committees should not be confused with select committees, which are parliamentary bodies that scrutinise what government does.

How are cabinet committees established?

Prime ministers can create and abolish cabinet committees at will. They also decide the remit and membership of the committees.

Some committees are relatively permanent: the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee has existed since 2010 to “consider issues relating to the government’s parliamentary business and its legislative programme”. It is similar in scope to the Legislation Committee which existed under Gordon Brown. ¹³ Cabinet Office, Ministerial Committee on Legislation, 3 November 2008, retrieved on 18 March 2020, web.archive.org/web/20081120051054/http:/www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/secretariats/committees/l.aspx  Likewise, the National Security Council was placed on a formal committee footing in 2010 and has remained in existence since, except for a brief interlude under Liz Truss, when it was merged with other foreign policy committees to form a single Foreign Policy and Security Council. ¹⁴ Sabbagh D and Mason R, ‘Truss axes national security council, sparking ‘talking-shop’ concerns’, 23 September 2022, retrieved 27 February 2024, www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/23/truss-axes-national-security-council-sparking-talking-shop-concerns

Others are more transient, reflecting the prime minister’s priorities or the political context. In 2015, David Cameron abolished the Coalition Committee and Banking Reform Committee and introduced a new committee on Europe. Theresa May similarly established several Brexit-related cabinet committees, while Boris Johnson introduced two Covid-19 committees.

What subjects do cabinet committees cover?

As of October 2024, there are 7 cabinet committees and 3 sub-committees:

• The National Security Council (NSC), which has three sub-committees covering nuclear, Ukraine and resilience
• The Europe Committee
• The Union and Constitution Committee
• The Home and Economic Affairs Committee
• The Future of Work Committee
• The Science and Technology Committee
• The Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee

How has the number of cabinet committees changed over time?

Cabinet committees has fluctuated in number and form between 2010 and 2024. The Labour government first published information on its cabinet committees in October 2024, three months after the election. Several of Starmer’s ten committees – such as the National Security Council – have been carried on from previous governments. The Europe Committee and the Union and Constitution Committee – sub-committees under Sunak’s government – have been established in their own right. The Future of Work Committee is a new departure and reflects Labour’s focus on employment.

Who sits on cabinet committees?

Cabinet committees primarily consist of cabinet ministers, though a number of more junior ministers are also members. Membership is at the prime minister’s discretion, so it may reflect individual ministers’ relationship with the prime minister as much as the policy areas they are responsible for.

The prime minister chairs all five of the committees that he sits on. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, sits on 8 committees or sub-committees – more than any other minister - and Pat McFadden, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, sits on 7 (chairing 3). Ministers who attend cabinet (but who are not full members) are also invited to sit on cabinet committees including: 

• The attorney general, Richard Hermer, sits on four 
• Darren Jones, chief secretary to the Treasury, sits on two 
• Alan Campbell, commons chief whip, sits on one 
• Anneliese Dodds, minister for women and equalities, sits on the Future of Work Committee 

In addition, a small number of committees contain members who do not attend cabinet itself: 

• The Lords chief whip, Lord Kennedy, the advocate general for Scotland, Baroness Smith, and Nick Thomas-Symonds, paymaster general all sit on the Parliamentary Business and Legislation committee. Thomas-Symonds sits on five committees in total. 
• Science minister Lord Vallance sits on the Science and Technology Committee 

The exact membership of committees – or even their existence – is sometimes unclear. There is often a delay between changes to committees and the publication of a new committee list. For example, between the November 2020 and October 2021, there were reports of new cabinet committees but no lists were published during this period. ¹⁶ BBC News, ‘Downing Street sets up new unit to focus on keeping the UK together’, 25 February 2021, www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56193743

What does the gender balance in cabinet committees look like?

As with other areas of government, women tend to be underrepresented in cabinet committees. 

From October 2024, women hold 36% of cabinet committee place, which is higher than previous governments. The increase reflects the fact that women make up nearly half (46%) of Keir Starmer’s cabinet, but women are less represented on committees than at cabinet level.

What do ministers think about cabinet committees?

Although during interviews for our Ministers Reflect archive, former ministers frequently speak about cabinet committees, they are widely viewed in a negative light. Indeed, Jim Knight, minister for schools and learning under Labour, and Lynne Featherstone, minister of state for crime prevention during the coalition government, refer to them as a “waste of time”.  

Across the political spectrum cabinet committees have been labelled as “tick-boxy” (Ed Vaizey – Conservative, former minister of state for culture and the digital economy) and “a box ticking exercise” (Jim Knight – Labour).

Ministers also frequently mention that cabinet committees are not forums for proper decision making. John Healey, previously economic secretary to the Treasury under Tony Blair, claimed that “There were very few cabinet committees where, in my experience… decisions that haven’t essentially been prepared in advance were taken.” David Hanson, a former minister of state for Northern Ireland, added that “really the decisions were being made somewhere else”. 

What other ministerial committees are there?

The government can also create other types of ministerial committees. David Cameron set up implementation taskforces and, in response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, Boris Johnston established four implementation committees. Other forms include roadmap taskforces and inter-ministerial groups. 

Starmer has announced the establishment of mission boards alongside cabinet committees. These will focus on growth, clean energy, safer streets, opportunities and health. These boards are chaired by the relevant secretary of state with the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster as deputy chair. The boards are designed to oversee and progress the government’s missions, but it is not clear how they differ from cabinet committees.