The Secretary to the Cabinet is responsible for ensuring appropriate drafting of the Cabinet’s decisions for approval by the Chair of the meeting and then circulation to relevant Ministers and officials.

The process of preparing Cabinet conclusions aims to:

1. provide written decisions focused on the action to be taken, with clear accountability and timelines and milestones where appropriate;
2. facilitate rapid implementation by circulating conclusions to implementing departments and agencies as soon as possible after the Cabinet meeting at which they were discussed; and
3. avoid wasting time in Cabinet meetings reviewing the wording of conclusions reached at the previous meeting.

A separate written Cabinet conclusion shall be issued by the Secretary to the Cabinet for each submission or other agenda item discussed. This short document records the decisions reached for the guidance of those who must implement those decisions. The conclusion should avoid recording the opinions expressed by particular Ministers or the reasons discussed for the decision in meeting.

Cabinet conclusions must include:

1. specific actions which Cabinet has agreed will be undertaken;
2. the Ministry (or Ministries or other agencies) responsible for undertaking or supervising implementation;
3. any special timing or reporting requirements set by the Cabinet;
4. reference to the submission on which the conclusion is based; and
5. sufficient guidance for implementation, especially if the decision was made without submission or if the Cabinet agreed on a different approach to that recommended in the submission.

If there is any doubt about the decision that was reached, the Secretary to the Cabinet shall consult with the Prime Minister and/or relevant Ministers before signing the conclusion.

Cabinet conclusions reflect the collective decisions of the meetings and are binding on all members, even when they did not attend the Cabinet meeting. It is therefore important that all conclusions are circulated to all Ministers.

Separate from the conclusions, the Cabinet Office prepares draft minutes for each Cabinet meeting summarizing the discussions.