Cabinet meeting - a decision in the matter

Government decisions are taken at Cabinet meetings normally convened every Thursday. Before the Cabinet meeting, the matter has been reported to the minister responsible, and put on an agenda along with other matters to be raised at the meeting. When a government decision has been taken, all the parties concerned are notified and lastly the documents are filed in the ministry archives.

Weekly drafting session

Before the Government makes any decision, the official handling the matter, the head of department or the Director-General for Administrative and Legal Affairs reports to the minister concerned at briefing sessions held each week in preparation for Cabinet meetings. In practice, most items of business are decided at these sessions.

List of items on the agenda

Prior to a Cabinet meeting each ministry draws up a list of items the ministers will be raising at the weekly meeting for a decision. The list of agenda items is published the day before the Cabinet meeting in the afternoon, that is to say normally every Wednesday afternoon.

The fact that an item is included on the agenda does not necessarily mean a final decision will be taken at the Cabinet meeting. Items of business may be discussed at a Cabinet meeting even though they are not on the published agenda. Matters that are classified as confidential and matters concerning pardons are never included in the list of items on the agenda.

Cabinet meeting

The Government takes its decisions at Cabinet meetings normally convened every Thursday morning. Government decisions are taken collectively and at least five ministers must be present to have a quorum. Ministers present their own items and are replaced by another minister if he or she cannot attend the meeting.

When an item appears on the agenda the ministers are usually already agreed on the outcome, and as a rule decisions are taken without any in-depth discussion. With some 10 000 matters to be settled each year, that would be an impossible task.

Deliberations on important maters of principle take place at special meetings. Either at what are known as general meetings which are held immediately after Cabinet meetings, or at daily meetings over lunch (lunch meeting).

Dispatch

When a government decision has been taken, the person or organisation that took the original initiative and others affected by the decision are notified.

Filing

Once the process is complete the documents are filed in the ministry archives. Anyone who has questions relating to a government decision, should in the first instance contact the senior registry clerk at the respective ministry. After five years, documents are transferred to the central archives of the Government Offices, which is where all document from 1985 onwards are stored. Documents dating from before 1985 have been transferred to the National Archives.