Cabinet decisions must be adhered to and implemented by all Ministers and public officers, subject to decisions being amended or rescinded at a subsequent Cabinet meeting.

The Secretary to the Cabinet will keep a record of Cabinet decisions that call for action by a Minister or public officer, and their deadlines. The Secretary may remind those responsible for implementation to take action and may report to the Prime Minister where action does not occur as required. However, officials are expected to ‘self-enforce’ such obligation and deadlines, and to advise their Minister and the Secretary to the Cabinet if there are any problems in meeting the obligations.

Ministers are responsible for instructing their Ministries to implement the confirmed (or advance) conclusions of the Cabinet and informing subordinate agencies about decisions affecting them. If several Ministries are involved, the conclusion should indicate which Ministry or public agency is in charge of ensuring the decision is implemented (the ‘responsible Ministry’).

As noted in section 5.3, for complex proposals the Ministry should complete a summary implementation plan when preparing the Cabinet submission, using the standard format in annex 2. This plan will form the basis of subsequent implementation reports unless amended explicitly by the Cabinet.

Using the standard reporting template in annex 3, Ministries shall report every quarter through their Permanent Secretaries on the implementation of decisions for which they are responsible. The Cabinet may require more frequent reporting for urgent decisions.

Such reports shall indicate the progress of implementation, including whether they are ‘on track’ relative to the submitted implementation plan. They should provide an explanation if any action has not been completed by the due date. Based on the Ministry reports, the Cabinet Office will prepare consolidated reports for Cabinet, in liaison with the relevant Ministries. These reports will highlight priority decisions that are delayed or stalled.

As explained in section 7.2, the Cabinet Office plays the key role in this process, not only tracking the implementation of Cabinet conclusions and the Government’s broader agenda, but also providing support to Ministries having difficulties with implementation, especially where addressing those problems involves other Ministries or matters beyond the capacity of the responsible Ministry.

The Cabinet Office may convene meetings with the relevant Ministries on the implementation of high priority decisions.