Section 68 of the Constitution establishes the office of Secretary to the Cabinet, in charge of the Cabinet Office which is part of the Office of the Prime Minister. Under Section 85, in appointing the Secretary to the Cabinet, the Governor-General is required to act on the advice of the Public Service Commission.

The Secretary to the Cabinet is Head of the Public Service and reports directly to the Prime Minister.

Section 68 specifically makes the Secretary to the Cabinet responsible for arranging the business for the Cabinet, for keeping the minutes of its meetings, for conveying its decisions to the appropriate person or authority and for such other functions as the Prime Minister may direct.

The Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of the Public Service is responsible for support to the Cabinet, its Committees and its decision-making processes, including the following functions:

a) conducting and maintaining the central decision-making procedures and process of the Cabinet;

b) providing administrative and secretariat support to the Cabinet and its Committees;

c) preparing draft agendas for the approval of the Prime Minister, as well as a forward program for Cabinet meetings;

d) providing guidelines and advice to Ministries on the preparation of Cabinet Submissions and reports, especially to ensure they are informed by appropriate evidence;

e) registering papers submitted for Cabinet consideration;

f) reviewing documents submitted to Cabinet to ensure they comply with this Manual, including use of standard formats and adequate evidence for Cabinet to make an informed decision, and where necessary advising a Ministry to redraft a submission to meet the requirements of this Manual;

g) distributing materials for Cabinet and Committee meetings;

h) attending all Cabinet and Cabinet committee meetings to facilitate and record impartially the decisions taken;

i) distributing Cabinet decisions to Ministries;

j) advice on Ministers’ conduct, public duty and potential conflicts of interests;

k) coordinating, monitoring and reporting on the implementation of Cabinet decisions;

l) preparing summary reports of Ministry performance, especially on the implementation of Cabinet decisions;

m) supervising rules on the handling of Cabinet documents;

n) maintaining the official archive of Cabinet documents including decisions and submissions;

o) establishing specific procedures, standard formats and quality standards for Cabinet submissions and reports;

p) supporting Ministries to comply with the procedures contained herein, including through support for Cabinet Liaison Officers (see below) and specific capacity building activities;

q) providing briefing and advice to the Chairs of Cabinet and Committees on the handling of matters submitted to Cabinet;

r) communicating with the Office of the Governor-General to initiate the appointment of Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries and the relevant instruments when appointments are revoked;

s) updating the Cabinet Manual to reflect changes in practice and emerging issues; and

t) other functions that the Prime Minister may assign from time to time.