Prime Ministers Office
From SR
Downing Street and Number 10 are commonly used terms for the Prime Minister's Office.
Roles
The Prime Minister is the head of the UK Government and is ultimately responsible for the policy and decisions of Government. As head of the UK Government the Prime Minister also oversees the operation of the civil service and Government agencies, appoints members of the cabinet, and is the principal Government figure in the House of Commons. The new Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, came to power after a party leadership election in June 2007.
The Cabinet is the committee at the centre of the British political system and is the supreme decision-making body in government.
The Cabinet has no legal powers, they are held by Secretaries of State. But it has collective responsibility to Parliament so all members are bound to support Cabinet decisions even if they were not present.
Structure
Who's who in the Prime Minister's Office:
- Jeremy Heywood - Permanent Secretary, No 10 Downing Street
- Stephen Carter - Chief of Strategy and Principal Adviser
- Michael Ellam - Director of Communications and the Prime Minister's Spokesman
- Gavin Kelly - Deputy Chief of Staff
- David Muir - Director of Political Strategy
- Sue Nye - Director of Government Relations
- Dan Corry - Head of Policy Unit
- Damian McBride - Adviser to the Prime Minister on political press issues
- Jon Cunliffe - Head of International Economic Affairs, Europe and G8 Sherpa
- Simon McDonald - Head of Foreign and Defence Policy
- Robert Hannigan is Head of Security Policy
The office is staffed by civil servants and special advisers who support the Prime Minister and ensure he can carry out his wide range of functions, from international diplomacy to policy-making.
Most staff are based inside the offices of 10 Downing Street. Every Tuesday during Parliament, Secretaries of State from all departments and some other ministers meet in the Cabinet room in Downing Street to discuss the big issues of the day. Meetings are currently attended by 22 paid ministers and one unpaid minister appointed to Cabinet, and six other invited ministers and peers.
The Prime Minister chairs the meetings, selects its members, and also recommends their appointment as ministers by the Monarch. The Secretary of the Cabinet is responsible for preparing records of its discussions and decisions.
Committees
Much of the work of Cabinet is delegated to Committees.
The Prime Minister decides who sits on the Committees and what they are responsible for. Some of the Committees exist for short periods to deal with a particular issue.
