Working with Ministers A practical handbook on advising, briefing & drafting A new edition of the handbook written by Christopher Jary now revised by the original author with Laura Bryant-Smith of the Policy Profession Support Unit 2 WORKING WITH MINISTERS 0-9536688-2-7 © Crown Copyright 2004 Sixth Edition Published January 2015 First edition published May 2004 Second edition published May 2005 Third edition published October 2006 Fourth edition published March 2008 Fifth edition published July 2011 This edition published November 2014 © Crown Copyright 2004 A HANDBOOK ON ADVISING, BRIEFING & DRAFTING 3 Contents Introduction to this guide 7 Chapter 1: Ministers and civil servants: Characteristics, roles and relationships 9 Chapter 2: The Private Office 30 Chapter 3: How to brief a minister 38 Chapter 4: How to draft ministers’ letters 56 Chapter 5: How to draft answers to Parliamentary Questions 70 Chapter 6: How to write ministers’ speeches 95 Chapter 7: Civil Service ethics in practice 119 Appendix 1: The Civil Service Code 134 Appendix 2: Extracts from the Ministerial Code 141 Appendix 3: Extracts from the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers 149 Annex A: Ministerial Code: The Seven Principles of Public Life 153 IndeX 155 4 WORKING WITH MINISTERS A HANDBOOK ON ADVISING, BRIEFING & DRAFTING 5 Acknowledgements In these matters, as in Michael Meacher, Terry Burns, everything else, we’re all Peter Hennessy, Dennis standing on each other’s Kavanagh, Dicky Bird, Sean Lusk, shoulders. Many colleagues, Paul Grant, Jane Foulsham, knowingly or not, have Heather Todd, Michael Partridge, contributed to this handbook. Tony Shaw, Helena Charlton, Many of the ideas that follow Francis Coxhead, Zoe McNeill- have been stolen shamelessly Ritchie, Richard Jackson, over the years from friends and Chris Carr, Michael Duggett and colleagues of all kinds: civil Brian Whalley. servants, ministers, MPs and political scientists or observers. Some of them – Sean Lusk, David Revolta, Richard Jackson, Chris These include, in no sort of Carr, Anne-Marie Lawlor, order at all: Michael Meacher, Sir Michael Max Atkinson, Susan Jones, Partridge and Paul Grant – read Alan Wren, Hugh Lennon, the original book in draft and Andrew Wyatt, John Fuller, made helpful and encouraging John Cannon, Graham Davey, suggestions. Joe Kennedy, Amanda Bausor, Lois Lightfoot, David Revolta, When Working with Ministers Clare Shaw, Derek Cannons, first appeared in 2004 the United Trevor Tucknutt, Alyson Fender, Kingdom had not experienced Martyn Waring, the late Peter coalition government since July Morrison, Geoffrey Holland, 1945, e-mail was far from Roger Dawe, Barry Sutlieff, universal, Facebook was unheard Barnaby Shaw, Michael Howard, of and tweets concerned only Anne-Marie Lawlor, David sparrows. This new edition Blunkett, Margaret Hodge, required revision to encapsulate Nigel Forman, Jeremy Corbyn, the changes of the last decade. 6 WORKING WITH MINISTERS It owes a great deal to the interest and involvement of Richard Banks, Chris Wormald, Oliver Letwin, Charlotte McKeown, Jacob Soper, Gabriel Milland, Stephen Muers, Alex Knight and Philippa Stroud. Laura Bryant-Smith played a star part in producing this sixth edition – which is why her name appears on its cover. A HANDBOOK ON ADVISING, BRIEFING & DRAFTING 7 Introduction to this guide Serving ministers can be The effective performance of any exhilarating and rewarding. of these tasks depends upon our Advising the Government of the having a clear understanding of day to help improve the lives of our role as civil servants, British citizens is an important and ministers’ roles, the role of special demanding job. It can also be advisers and the correct bewildering and frustrating when relationship between us all. It also roles, relationships and ministers’ requires a practical grasp of what requirements are unclear. ministers need, based on a sympathetic appreciation of the This handbook offers practical pressures and demands they face. guidance for those advising The first chapter therefore ministers. It includes: examines roles, relationships and briefing orally and in writing the pressures on ministers while (including writing the second describes the hub of submissions); these activities: private office. drafting replies to ministerial correspondence The principles governing the (Ministers’ Cases and Treat working relationships around Officially Cases); ministers are described in the Civil drafting replies to written and Service Code, the Ministerial Code oral Parliamentary Questions; and the Code of Conduct for and Special Advisers, which appear as appendices to this guide. These drafting ministerial speeches. codes highlight the importance We hope it will be a useful Parliament attaches to an orderly supplement to formal training and and transparent process of your department’s written government, to accountability at guidance. all levels of responsibility and to a politically impartial Civil Service. 8 WORKING WITH MINISTERS Successive governments have been committed to improving the quality of public services while maintaining the traditional principles and relationships on which the Civil Service was founded. The final chapter therefore tries to interpret, from an individual civil servant’s perspective, what those principles mean in practice in our daily lives serving ministers. A personal recommendation from me is that it may be helpful, before embarking on any of the tasks described in Chapters III to VI, to have read Chapters I, II and VII, which provide the background to how and why we do things as we do. Christopher Jary A HANDBOOK ON ADVISING, BRIEFING & DRAFTING 9 Chapter 1: Ministers and civil servants: Characteristics, roles and relationships The government environment is Unless we can make that inhabited by two quite different imaginative leap to see the world species, ministers and civil from a minister’s perspective, servants, who enjoy a symbiotic we cannot help them discharge relationship. Good government the exacting duties upon which depends on the differences successful government depends. between them: on the Although every individual is characteristics of one balancing unique, and generalisations are those of the other. Ministers dangerous, this chapter tries to bring to Whitehall democratic identify some of the more legitimacy and accountability, common characteristics of political direction and a ministers and civil servants, to common-sense approach to examine their roles in government. Civil servants bring government and to explore the expertise, specialist knowledge, relationship between them. objective advice and continuity. The differences between the two “While it is helpful if ministers species can, however, lead to understand the needs of their misunderstandings, confusion civil servants, it’s essential that and frustration. It’s up to civil civil servants understand servants to bridge any gap. the needs of ministers.” While it is helpful if ministers understand the needs of their civil servants, it’s essential that civil servants understand the needs of ministers. 10 WORKING WITH MINISTERS Ministers Because a department is headed things they must do: by a political chief – a Secretary set their departments’ of State – and an official – the strategic direction; Permanent Secretary – who make policy decisions; and manages the department, present and account for responsibility for leadership is policy publicly and in less clearly allocated than it is in Parliament. most organisations. Instead, it is shared between While ministers’ priorities vary, them in a relationship that is from a ‘typical’ secretary of unique to government. state’s perspective the world There are many things ministers may look roughly like this: can do, but there are three A HANDBOOK ON ADVISING, BRIEFING & DRAFTING 11 Family and friends Ministers will also be acutely Ministers are human. Most have aware of the Chancellor of the husbands, wives, partners and Exchequer’s control of the purse children, and the demands of their strings: money often dictates what ministerial, parliamentary, party can and cannot be done. and constituency lives don’t allow The party them to spend as much time with them as most would wish. First and foremost, ministers are Although this is a side of their lives politicians. They became we barely glimpse, it helps if civil politicians because they believe in servants understand the sacrifices the broad set of political principles ministers and their families are espoused by a particular party. If often making. they are Members of the House of Commons, it is because that party The Prime Minister originally adopted them as Ministers are appointed and candidate for a constituency. Now, dismissed by the Prime Minister, as senior members of their party, who maintains a keen interest in they will be expected to continue how they perform the duties they to play a prominent part in party have been given. Without the meetings, committees and Prime Minister’s continued trust engagements. and support, a minister cannot They must also attend function. In some circumstances – parliamentary votes and pay especially but not exclusively attention to the party whips (the when there is a coalition business managers for each party government – the Deputy Prime in Parliament). Minister may also play an influential role in deciding what particular departments can and cannot do. 12 WORKING WITH MINISTERS Constituents Sometimes known as Spads, they Ministers must combine their attend some meetings with ministerial