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    5.0 Preparation of submissions

    Cabinet has the pre-eminent role to ensure the development and coordination of government policy. Cabinet collectively, and Ministers individually, have a primary duty to ensure that policy and other decisions are robust and serve the public interest. Information being considered at Cabinet level must be of the highest standard to aid that decision-making.

    The contents of a Cabinet submission should be concise and should bring out essential matters under a series of headings, explained and illustrated in Chapter 5.4 and Chapter 5.5 respectively.

    As a general rule, the coversheet of a submission should not exceed two A4 pages and the total document not exceed 12 A4 pages, however, where the material is complex, submission length may be as necessary to ensure sufficient detail is included within both the coversheet and the body of the submission.

    Attachments to submissions may be added where necessary to support the Cabinet submission. Prescribed procedures apply to attachments and these are listed in Chapter 5.3.11. Attachments should not introduce issues for discussion not raised in the body of the Cabinet submission.

    Uniformity of approach to Cabinet and Cabinet Committee business is an important tool for injecting the necessary rigour into the process so that Ministers can be confident that their decisions are based upon sound information which has been gathered and presented in accordance with their collective needs.

    This chapter will discuss the various types of Cabinet submissions, their differing structural requirements, as well as give important information on formatting and stylistic requirements. Similarly, the chapter will also address the requirements relating to preparation of a Cabinet Committee submission.

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    Last updated:
    18 May, 2016
    Last reviewed:
    17 July, 2009