Cabinet Manual

8.112 Former Ministers should not disclose official information dating from their time in office.

8.113 Former Ministers may wish to publish memoirs, articles, or other material that relate to their time in office. The free flow of advice and comment among Ministers and between Ministers and officials, as well as the concept of collective responsibility, justifies the following of certain standards by former Ministers who are contemplating publication of this kind.

8.114 The following guidance is designed to provide and preserve a confidential working environment for Ministers, and the officials who advise them. Such an environment enables diverse opinions to be freely canvassed and expressed without the restraint that would accompany the expectation of disclosure.

  1. Any Cabinet records drawn on for possible publication must be used with care, unless the information they contain has already been made public through authorised means. Disclosure should preferably be checked with the relevant department (through the Cabinet Office), so that the material can be assessed in terms of the Official Information Act 1982.
  2. The views expressed by other Ministers, or the process by which a decision has been arrived at, should not be disclosed. It is impossible to lay down precise rules, but the closer the publication date to the actual event recorded, the more sensitive the approach required. Ministers may account for their own views, but should not reveal, without first consulting those colleagues, the attitudes or opinions of colleagues as to the government business with which they have been concerned.
  3. Comment from officials or others whose duty it has been to tender their advice or opinions should not be released without prior consultation. Any reference should be made only in general terms, without attribution to identifiable persons.
  4. Before making public assessments or criticisms of those who have served them, or making judgements of competence or suitability, former Ministers should carefully consider the fact that, in most cases, the individuals concerned will not be in a position to respond.
  5. Former Ministers should not disclose the content of any discussion held during an Executive Council meeting. On appointment to office, all Executive Councillors swear or affirm an oath under the Oaths and Declarations Act 1957 that they "will not directly or indirectly reveal such matters as shall be debated in Council and committed to [their] secrecy".

8.115 If former Ministers retain any ministerial records after leaving office and receive requests to disclose any of those records, they should contact the Cabinet Office. The Cabinet Office will arrange for the relevant department to assess the material in terms of the Official Information Act 1982, so that appropriate considerations can be taken into account before a decision is made on the release of the information.