Ministerial consultation

Consultation by Ministers

Ministers are expected to consult relevant ministerial colleagues before submitting Cabinet committee papers that deal with significant or potentially controversial matters, or that touch on other Ministers' portfolio interests. This is a long standing convention, consistent across successive administrations (see paragraphs 5.14 - 5.21 of the Cabinet Manual).

Where there is a statutory requirement to consult another Minister or particular groups, the Minister must ensure that that has happened before the paper is submitted (see paragraphs 5.14 - 5.21 of the Cabinet Manual).

Ministers are required to consult the Minister of Finance on all proposals seeking additional resources before submitting the paper.

Consultation arising from coalition, confidence and supply, and support and cooperation agreements

Ministers are responsible for ensuring that consultation is undertaken in accordance with any coalition, confidence and supply, and cooperation agreements entered into when the government was formed.

Consultation with government caucuses

Some Cabinet and committee decisions need to be referred to government caucuses for discussion. This is because the Minister responsible considers it would be desirable to consult the caucuses and has indicated this on the CAB 100 form. Alternatively, Cabinet or a committee may agree that discussion with caucus is needed and this is recorded in the minute.

It is the responsibility of the office of the responsible Minister to:

arrange for the item to be placed on the agenda of one or both government caucuses;
find out from their Minister the outcome of the discussion at the caucus(es); and
discuss with the relevant committee secretary or the Deputy Secretary of the Cabinet a process for referring the issue back to Cabinet or a committee, if caucus discussion leads to a recommendation to change a Cabinet decision.

Consultation with the Minister of Finance

In cases where approval for policy or expenditure proposals needs to be sought outside the Budget round, and the Vote Minister considers that the proposal cannot be resourced from within existing baselines, the Vote Minister must personally consult the Minister of Finance before submitting a paper to Cabinet or a Cabinet committee. (This requirement also applies to proposals that were identified during the Budget round as contingency items that may require funding approval later in the year.)

The requirement for the Vote Minister to consult personally the Minister of Finance is additional to the requirement for departments to consult the Treasury on proposals with economic implications, financial or fiscal (expenditure or revenue) implications, implications for the Public Finance Act 1989, or regulatory implications.

The procedures for consultation with the Minister of Finance are:

the Vote Minister should forward a copy of the draft paper to the Minister of Finance before the submission of the paper to Cabinet (for practical reasons, it is recommended that this occur at least five working days before the Cabinet Office deadline for the submission of the paper - that is, usually at least one week before the deadline);
the Minister of Finance will review the paper and, if necessary, arrange a meeting with the Vote Minister to discuss the appropriate course of action, taking into account the Guidelines for Changes to Baselines [Cabinet Office circular CO (02) 12] and the objectives for each Budget; and
consultation with the Minister of Finance should be indicated on the CAB 100 consultation form.

It is expected that Ministers' offices and departments will provide advice and support to their Minister in meeting the requirement to consult the Minister of Finance.

Chief executives should ensure that:

their department does not forward papers seeking approval for additional resources to their Minister for submission to a Cabinet committee without advising the Minister that consultation with the Minister of Finance is required (the Treasury can provide advice on this);
they provide advice to the Minister, along with a copy of the draft paper, on the need for consultation with the Minister of Finance (this needs to be done in sufficient time to allow the consultation to occur and for the paper to be submitted on time); and that
the requirement for Ministers to consult the Minister of Finance on proposals seeking additional resources is reflected in their department's planning and quality assurance processes for the development of proposals and the preparation and submission of Cabinet papers.

It is expected that Ministers' offices will:

provide advice and support as required to their Minister in meeting the consultation requirements set out above;
liaise as required with the office of the Minister of Finance to facilitate the necessary consultation;
check that papers from their Minister seeking approval for additional resources are not submitted to a Cabinet committee until consultation with the Minister of Finance has occurred;
following the completion of consultation, check that the paper to be submitted to a Cabinet committee has a covering note from the Minister, indicating that the Minister of Finance has been consulted and that this consultation is reflected in the CAB 100; and
liaise as required with the Cabinet Office in resolving any issues relating to the consultation requirement.

The Treasury will, when consulted on proposals to increase baselines, advise the department concerned that the Vote Minister should consult the Minister of Finance. The Treasury will also advise the office of the Minister of Finance of the proposal and of the need for consultation to occur at ministerial level.

The Cabinet Office will not accept papers that seek approval for additional resources if the Minister of Finance has not been consulted by the Vote Minister.

The CabGuide section on consultation with Treasury