Call for Evidence

The House of Lords Constitution Committee, chaired by Baroness Taylor of Bolton, is conducting a short inquiry into the revision of the Cabinet Manual. The inquiry will focus on whether the Manual needs to be updated and what role it should play as a public facing document.

The Committee invites interested organisations and individuals to submit written evidence to the inquiry.

The deadline for written evidence submissions is 5pm on Wednesday 14 April. A small number of public hearings will be held during April. The Committee intends to report to the House early in the next parliamentary session.

Background

The first edition of the Cabinet Manual was published in October 2011[1] and was inspired, in part, by the New Zealand Cabinet Manual.[2] The Manual provides authoritative guidance to ministers and officials by recording (rather than prescribing) rules and practice relating to the operation of government. The Manual also ensures these arrangements are open and transparent to the public.

Before the first edition was published the Government published a draft version in December 2010 and conducted a public consultation, including engagement with select committees in both Houses who published a number of reports in response.[3] The Constitution Committee’s report acknowledged the Manual’s status as an Executive document and made a number of recommendations regarding its purpose and status, as well as its content. Some of the Committee’s recommendations were reflected in the final version of the Manual.

The Manual is not intended to be a fixed text and is expected to adapt to legislative and constitutional developments. The preface to the Manual states that new legislation, the evolution of conventions and procedural change means that the Manual will need to be “updated periodically”. Select committees in both Houses have recommended that the Manual be updated regularly but the Government do not appear to have any intention of updating the Manual in the short-term.[4]

Since the Manual’s publication in 2011 there have been significant developments in relation to Brexit, the devolution arrangements and the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Joint Committee on the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act (2011) has also reported on its understanding of the conventions on elections and government formation under a prerogative system, to inform any future revision of the Manual as a consequence of the proposed repeal of that Act.[5]

Questions

The Committee welcomes written submissions on any aspect of this topic, and particularly on the following questions.

The Committee is not considering the merits, or otherwise, of introducing a codified constitution as part of its inquiry.

1. What role does, and should, the Cabinet Manual play as a public facing document?
2. Should the Cabinet Manual be updated and, if so, what changes are required?
3. What approach should the Government adopt to ensuring the Cabinet Manual is kept up to date?
4. Recognising the Cabinet Manual is an Executive document, what role, if any, should Parliament have regarding its revision?
5. Can any lessons be learned, or adopted, from other jurisdictions without a codified constitution?

ANNEX: GUIDANCE FOR SUBMISSIONS 

Written evidence must be submitted online via the committee’s inquiry page https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1150/revision-of-the-cabinet-manual/. Please do not submit PDFs (if you do not have access to Microsoft Word you may submit in another editable electronic form). If you cannot submit evidence online, please contact the committee staff. 

The deadline for written evidence is 14 April 2021.

Concise submissions are preferred. A submission longer than six pages should include a one-page summary. Paragraphs should be numbered. Submissions should be dated, with a note of the author’s name, and of whether the author is making the submission on an individual or a corporate basis. All submissions submitted online will be acknowledged automatically. 

Personal contact details supplied to the committee will be removed from submissions before publication but will be retained by the committee staff for specific purposes relating to the committee’s work, such as seeking additional information. 

Submissions become the property of the committee which will decide whether to accept them as evidence. Evidence may be published by the committee at any stage. It will appear on the committee’s website and be deposited in the Parliamentary Archives. Once you have received acknowledgement that your submission has been accepted as evidence you may publicise or publish it yourself, but in doing so you must indicate that it was prepared for the committee. If you publish your evidence separately you should be aware that you will be legally responsible for its content. 

You should not comment on individual cases currently before a court of law, or matters in respect of which court proceedings are imminent. If you anticipate such issues arising, you should discuss with the clerk of the committee how this might affect your submission. 

Certain individuals and organisations may be invited to appear in person before the committee to give oral evidence. Oral evidence is usually given in public at Westminster and broadcast in audio and online. Persons invited to give oral evidence will be notified separately of the procedure to be followed and the topics likely to be discussed. 

Substantive communications to the committee about the inquiry should be addressed through the clerk or the chairman of the committee, whether or not they are intended to constitute formal evidence to the committee. 

This is a public call for evidence. Please bring it to the attention of other groups and individuals who may not have received a copy directly.

Diversity comes in many forms and hearing a range of different perspectives means that committees are better informed and can more effectively scrutinise public policy and legislation. Committees can undertake their role most effectively when they hear from a wide range of individuals, sectors or groups in society affected by a particular policy or piece of legislation. We encourage anyone with experience or expertise of an issue under investigation by a select committee to share their views with the committee, with the full knowledge that their views have value and are welcome.

You may follow the progress of the inquiry at https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1150/revision-of-the-cabinet-manual/

To contact the staff of the committee, please email constitution@parliament.uk.

[1] UK Government, The Cabinet Manual: a guide to the laws, conventions and rules on the operation of government (1 edition, October 2011)

[2] See webpages of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, New Zealand Government: https://dpmc.govt.nz/our-business-units/cabinet-office/supporting-work-cabinet/cabinet-manual

[3]  See House of Lords Constitution Committee, The Cabinet Manual (12th Report, Session 2010–11, HL Paper 107); House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee, Constitutional Implications of the Cabinet Manual (Sixth Report of Session 2010-11, HC 734) and House of Commons Public Administration Committee, Cabinet Manual (Eight Report of Session 2010-11, HC 900). The Government responded to all three reports: Cm 8213 (October 2011). The Political and Constitutional Reform Committee also produced a follow-up report: Revisiting the Cabinet Manual (5 Report of Session 2014-15, HC 233)

[4] See correspondence between William Wragg MP, Chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, and Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, of 22 February and 5 March 2021: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/5001/documents/49916/default/

[5] Joint Committee on the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act, Report (Session 2019-21, HC 1046, HL Paper 253), Box 1