Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Cabinet Office has a primary responsibility to support the work of the Prime Minister and ensure the effective running of government.[1] Within this set-up, the Minister for the Cabinet Office has been seen to have varying responsibilities and stature in the government. The role is a flexible one and has variously been described as one or several of the following under different office-holders (and sometimes conflicting accounts of the status of the same office holder):[2]

• Monitoring the co-ordination of the work of government departments
• Chairing or sitting on several Cabinet Committees
• An additional title to indicate special responsibility
• An additional title to indicate seniority

The government describes the minister for the Cabinet Office as being "in overall charge of and responsible for the policy and work of the department, and attends Cabinet".[3]

Damian Green held the office in 2017, simultaneously with the office of First Secretary of State. Green chaired numerous Cabinet Committees and filled in for the Prime Minister at Prime Minister's Questions. By virtue of his responsibilities and as First Secretary of State, he was considered the de facto Deputy Prime Minister.[4] Upon the appointment of David Lidington in 2018, Lidington retained the responsibilities Green had held, but the title of First Secretary of State remained vacant (as did the office of Deputy Prime Minister, vacant since 2015).

As a result, the office in its 2017-2019 absorbed the responsibilities of a de facto Deputy Prime Minister, without either of the associated titles usually granted to individuals in the British Government (First Secretary of State or Deputy Prime Minister). In 2019, new Prime Minister Boris Johnson ended this arrangement with the appointment of a new First Secretary of State, Dominic Raab.

The current minister is Michael Gove, who was appointed for the Johnson ministry in February 2020. He simultaneously holds the sinecure office of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The role has had varying responsibilities over time.

The most recent responsibilities are:

• Supporting the Prime Minister in the running of the Government of the United Kingdom.
• Advising the Prime Minister on developing and implementing Government policy.
• Driving forward government business and implementation including through chairing and deputy chairing cabinet committees and taskforces.
• Overseeing constitutional affairs and maintaining the integrity of the Union.
• Oversight of all Cabinet Office policies.

Every occupant of the position has simultaneously held a sinecure office, this being Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from Clark to Byrne, Paymaster General from Jowell to Gummer, and First Secretary of State with Green. Oliver Dowden held the office of Paymaster General, while David Lidington and, presently, Michael Gove have held the role of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Concurrent Office	Party	Prime Minister
	David Clark		2 May 1997	27 July 1998	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	Labour	Tony Blair
	Jack Cunningham		27 July 1998	11 October 1999
	Mo Mowlam		11 October 1999	7 June 2001
	Lord Macdonald of Tradeston		11 June 2001	13 June 2003
	Douglas Alexander		13 June 2003	8 September 2004
	Alan Milburn		8 September 2004	6 May 2005
	John Hutton		6 May 2005	2 November 2005
	Jim Murphy (acting)		5 November 2005	5 May 2006
	Hilary Armstrong		5 May 2006	28 June 2007
	Ed Miliband		28 June 2007	3 October 2008			Gordon Brown
	Liam Byrne		3 October 2008	5 June 2009
	Tessa Jowell		5 June 2009	11 May 2010	Paymaster General
	Francis Maude		12 May 2010	11 May 2015		Conservative	David Cameron (Coalition)
	Matthew Hancock		11 May 2015	14 July 2016			David Cameron (II)
	Ben Gummer		14 July 2016	11 June 2017			Theresa May (I)
	Damian Green		11 June 2017	20 December 2017	First Secretary of State		Theresa May (II)
	David Lidington		8 January 2018	24 July 2019	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
	Oliver Dowden		24 July 2019	13 February 2020	Paymaster General		Boris Johnson (I) & (II)
	Michael Gove		13 February 2020	Incumbent	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster		Boris Johnson (II)

Occasionally, a Minister of State for the Cabinet Office is appointed who is junior to the Minister for the Cabinet Office.

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Party	Prime Minister
	Derek Foster		2 May 1997	6 May 1997	Labour		Blair
	Peter Kilfoyle		6 May 1997	28 July 1999
	Ian McCartney		28 July 1999	11 June 2001
	Barbara Roche		11 June 2001	29 May 2002
	Douglas Alexander		29 May 2002	13 June 2003
	David Miliband		16 December 2004	11 May 2005
Vacant			11 May 2005	4 September 2012
							Brown
							Cameron (Coalition)
	David Laws		4 September 2012	7 May 2015	Liberal Democrats
Vacant			8 May 2015	13 February 2020			Cameron (II)
							May (I)
							May (II)
							Johnson (I)
							Johnson (II)
	Chloe Smith		13 February 2020	Incumbent	Conservatives
	Lord Agnew of Oulton		14 February 2020
	Lord True		14 February 2020

• Cabinet Office