CABINET SERVICES OFFICE

The Cabinet Office is a “Government secretariat” which provides continuity and impartial support to maintain and administer operations at the centre of Government.
The main functions of the Cabinet Office are:

(a) ADVICE

The Cabinet Office provides policy advice to the Prime Minister and, at the Prime Minister’s direction, to other Ministers and Government Departments on the constitutional, policy and administrative issues relating to the centre of Government.

These include:

• Policy and procedural aspects of the relationships between the Executive, the Queen’s Representative, and Parliament;
• The appointment of Minister’s
• The administration of Cabinet and its committees
• Administer the Royal Honours System
• The making of statutory appointments; and
• Advice on the implications of proportional representation for central Government

(b) SECRETARIAT SERVICES

The Cabinet Office:

• Receives and processes Cabinet and Cabinet committee (Central Agency Committee) submissions.
• Assures that submissions conform to the requirements established by Cabinet. These are aimed to ensure that proposals have been fully consulted and developed and that papers are well presented.
• Manages and prepares agendas for the Cabinet and its Committees, organises the meeting schedules, distributes meeting papers, and produces the minutes of decision taken.
  (In November 2006, the Cabinet protocol procedure was reintroduced to avoid short cut methods by encouraging that submissions comply with the standard procedures).
• The Cabinet Office also maintains the official records of Cabinet and its committees.
• Give feedback to Government ministries on their performance in the submission of Cabinet and Cabinet Committee papers, as measured against the criteria established by Cabinet.
• Maintain theRegister of MInisters' interest.

Other key functions of the Cabinet Office are to:

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OFFICE

The Executive Council office:
through the Clerk of the Executive Council, the Secretary of the Cabinet is directly responsible to the Queen’s Representative and to the Prime Minister for servicing the Executive Council and for providing such advice as may be required from time to time on constitutional matters. These functions are reported directly to the Queen’s Representative and to the Prime Minister by the Secretary of the Cabinet/Clerk of the Executive Council.

Key functions of the Clerk of the Executive Council are to:

• Provide guidance on matters relating to the role and functions of the Queen’s Representative, and to facilitate the process for appointing the Queen’s Representative.
• Provide a channel of communication between the Queen’s Representative and the Executive
• Ensure that the Queen’s Representative and the Prime Minister have the information and support they require on constitutional matters, including issues relevant to the Government formation process
• Facilitate the constitutional and administrative requirements necessary for a change in Government or Cabinet reshuffle
• Provide secretariat support to the Executive Council; and
• Ensure that the provision of services to the Queen’s Representative by Government House enable the Queen’s Representative to undertake the public functions of office.