Cabinet handbook - Section 3: Cabinet and ministerial decision making

3.1 This section covers the main principles and procedures governing decision making made by ministers, including Cabinet and Cabinet committees. It also covers ministerial correspondence.

3.2 Cabinet is the central decision-making body of government. It is a collective forum for ministers to decide significant issues and to keep colleagues informed of important matters. Final decisions on Cabinet business and procedures rest with the First Minister.

3.3 The principle of collective responsibility underpins the system of Cabinet government. This means that a decision taken by one minister is binding on all others and they must defend the decision in public, as it is official government policy, regardless of their own personal opinion.

3.4 It is essential that ministers have the opportunity to freely and frankly consider all major decisions taken by the Welsh Government. This occurs either through discussion at Cabinet or Cabinet Committee and Sub-Committee meetings, or via the submission of ministerial advice which is copied to all relevant ministers.

3.5 It is ultimately for the First Minister to decide if an issue should be discussed by Cabinet. As set out above, Cabinet Office is primarily responsible for the identification and planning of Cabinet business, and Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for the organisation of Cabinet meetings and the production and publication of Cabinet minutes.

3.6 As part of the Welsh Government’s commitment to open government, Cabinet agendas, minutes and papers (those not subject to Freedom of Information exemptions) are published on the Welsh Government’s website at least 6 weeks after each meeting.

3.7 The First Minister may establish Cabinet committees, sub-committees or ad-hoc groups to consider specific issues or policy areas. The terms of reference and membership of these committees or groups are determined by the First Minister.

3.8 Cabinet committees have 2 key purposes:

• To relieve pressure on the Cabinet by enabling as much business as possible to be settled at a lower level. Therefore, matters considered by a Cabinet Committee should, only by exception, also be considered by Cabinet.
• To support the principle of collective responsibility by ensuring that, even though a question may never reach the Cabinet itself, it will be fully considered. In this way, the final judgement is sufficiently authoritative that government as a whole can be expected to accept responsibility for it.

3.9 More broadly, Cabinet committees provide a framework for collective consideration of, and decisions on, major policy issues and questions of significant public interest. They ensure that issues that are of interest to more than one department are properly discussed and that the views of all relevant ministers are considered.

3.10 Additionally, a number of ad-hoc ministerial groups may be established to consider specific issues.

Protocol

3.11 The protocol sets out the broad principles guiding decisions on how best to treat ministerial correspondence (i.e. addressed to, or to be answered by, ministers) These are not always absolutely clear lines, but the following prompts should help guide most cases.

3.12 It also explains process and procedure, to provide a consistent starting point for ministers to decide how they wish their correspondence to be handled.

3.13 This protocol will primarily be used by the Correspondence Unit to determine how to treat and allocate incoming pieces of correspondence.

Principles

3.14 Correspondence should be dealt with appropriately, proportionately and promptly.

3.15 We aim to issue a response within 17 working days of receipt.

3.16 Where correspondence is addressed to multiple ministers, we issue a composite response signed by a single minister on behalf of the government, covering the full contents of the letter. Relevant ministers would have the opportunity to consider the draft before issue.

3.17 While this protocol sets the default private secretaries should discuss with ministers, special advisers and Correspondence Unit, their preferred approach to handling correspondence to be conveyed to the relevant policy areas. Ministers retain discretion over the correspondence they wish to handle personally, as well as over the standard deadlines for response, referred to above.

3.18 Handling issues should be discussed with the Correspondence Unit.

Guidelines for handling correspondence

1. No response required
   • Circulars, “round-robin” letters, routine campaigning material, newsletters
   • Vexatious Correspondence where the correspondent has been told we will not reply.
   • Abusive, threatening and aggravating letters (in serious cases these should be referred to the police)
2. Acknowledgement only required
3. Treat Official
4. Ministerial responses

Relationship with constituency office

3.19 The Ministerial Code sets out the need to keep ministerial and constituency roles separate. In terms of correspondence this presents two challenges.

3.20 Firstly, members of the public may not make the distinction, meaning correspondence is misdirected. E-mails and correspondence would normally be forwarded accordingly (i.e. the constituency office would pass ministerial correspondence to Correspondence Unit and vice versa).

3.21 Secondly, you will also be approached by constituents in relation to portfolio responsibilities. Generally, for written correspondence, you can respond to constituents on a portfolio matter directly as minister, though care should be taken to avoid any criticism that a constituent is being advantaged, or disadvantaged, as a result of the 2 roles. This is line with the normal protocol that a constituent should contact an MS, and the MS would contact the minister on their behalf. Where the minister and the MS are the same person that step is implicit, so ministers do not need to write to themselves to deal with correspondence on portfolio matters.

3.22 The exception is when a conflict of interest arises between the 2 roles. In these circumstances, the correspondence would then be dealt with via the provisions in the Ministerial Code. Your private office will provide advice on actual and/or perceived conflicts of interest.