Sir Gus O Donnell seminar on the Cabinet Manual

'More than just a Janet and John guide to the Queen and stuff' was how Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell, Britain's most senior civil servant, described the Cabinet Manual, the subject of one of the UCL Constitution Unit's Public Seminars on 24 February. Patrick Graham, a Constitution Unit intern, summarises the presentation and discussion below. 'Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell, Britain's most senior civil servant, delivered a presentation on the proposed Cabinet Manual on Thursday 24 February. This was part of the Constitution Unit's Public Seminar Series and was held at the Institute for Government. Published by the Cabinet Office, a draft version of the Manual is currently being considered by three parliamentary Select Committees while a consultation period is scheduled to end on 8 March. Sir Gus explained that the Manual is intended to 'help the public better understand how our democracy works' by making the inner workings of government more transparent. He emphasised, however, that it is not intended to be an exhaustive description of existing practices: rather, the Manual should act as a 'high-level summary' of areas such as ministerial responsibility, devolution and hung parliaments.