The fifth principle is that the deliberations of the Cabinet, and the documents on which they are based, must be confidential. Cabinet is a forum for Ministers to discuss issues candidly. The frankness of its discussions is facilitated by the strict observance of confidentiality, which minimizes the fear of potential disclosure of the position taken by individual Ministers in discussion of sensitive plans being considered by the Government.

While the governance of Grenada is based on a strong principle of transparency, the high stakes and interests involved in many decisions require the Government to have some private space to determine its priorities, resolve internal differences and question itself before facing public scrutiny and accountability. The confidentiality of Cabinet meetings allows Ministers to discuss a wide variety of matters openly with the full knowledge that they are working towards a collective decision. If the discussions in the Cabinet room were not confidential, and the positions taken by individual members of the Cabinet were publicly known, then it would be much more difficult to maintain collective responsibility for decisions.

The principle of Cabinet confidentiality is similar to the concept of legal professional privilege, which protects the discussions between lawyers and their clients. Cabinets around the world have adopted procedures to protect their capacity to make decisions based on honest advice from advisers and robust, internal discussion of the full range of options before announcing a new policy or submitting draft laws to the Parliament.

The procedures in this Manual also ensure that Cabinet’s decisions are not pre-empted by disclosure of options before the meeting. Ministers should refrain from making public statements or commenting on policy proposals that they or other Ministers intend to bring to Cabinet. Similarly, Ministers should not accept invitations to speak or comment publicly on matters outside their Ministerial portfolios without first obtaining clearance from the relevant Minister.

This confidentiality principle extends to the agendas for meetings of Cabinet, the submissions prepared by Ministers and the written conclusions of Cabinet before they are announced. Copies of submissions are printed by the originating Ministry and should not be disclosed to anyone except in the course of official business to persons who need to know. Drafts of the above documents should also be protected.

Even after a decision is made and announced by the Government, the documents and discussions leading to it remain confidential, unless publication is authorized by Cabinet or the Secretary to the Cabinet. Otherwise there is a risk that Ministers and advisers would be inhibited in future in providing frank opinions and in participating in candid discussion if they thought their contributions would be later made public.

The confidentiality of Cabinet deliberations and documents applies to the whole Cabinet process, including Cabinet sub-committees. The above requirements also extend to all officials attending Cabinet or Committee meetings or required to read Cabinet documents, including staff of the Cabinet Office and Ministries. Subject to other provisions of this Manual, attendance at Cabinet Committee meetings shall be limited in order to safeguard the confidentiality of Cabinet and its deliberations (see section 8.2)

In order to ensure their confidentiality, all Cabinet documents should be handled in accordance with the procedures in section 11 of this Manual. They should only be released to the public or non-government parties with the written permission of the Secretary to the Cabinet, noted in writing on the documents themselves.

Any breaches of this confidentiality principle and any questions regarding its interpretation should be referred to the Secretary to the Cabinet.