King Charles III
47-509: The National Security Council is a United Kingdom cabinet committee . The Council's terms of reference were said in September 2022 to include matters relating to national security, foreign policy, defence, trade, international relations, development, resilience and resource security. As of 2024, the meetings are held weekly. The NSC has counterparts in the national security councils of many other nations. The then National Security Council
94-538: A central role in the allocation of government money to departments. It originated in 1981 under the informal title of "Star Chamber" as an ad hoc committee (MISC 62) which could handle appeals over spending disputes, rather than having these be dealt with by the full Cabinet. An appeal to Cabinet was still possible, but this right was rarely exercised. The original name refers to the Star Chamber court noted for its secret, arbitrary and brutal decisions. The committee
141-665: A government response to the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament and a list of government salaries. Alessandri apparently took up her appointment in July 2018. Alessandri has left her Deputy NSA post to work in the Northern Ireland Office in January 2020. Alessandri has been replaced by Beth Sizeland while Alex Ellis has also been added as a deputy with the title 'Deputy National Security Adviser for
188-487: A newly created third DNSA position. As of 6 November 2014, there were three DNSAs: Hugh Powell as DNSA (Foreign Policy), Julian Miller as DNSA (Defence, Nuclear and Strategy) and Paddy McGuinness as DNSA (Intelligence, Security & Resilience). As of early December 2014, the National Security Secretariat was staffed by 180 officials and comprises five directorates: Foreign & Defence Policy;
235-535: A parallel Cabinet for military policy which existed from 1904 until 1939, included ministers, heads of the armed services, and civil servants. Between 1997 and 2001, there was a Ministerial Consultative Committee with the Liberal Democratic Party which included senior Liberal Democrats as well as Labour ministers. Until 1992, the list of cabinet committees, their membership, and their terms of reference were secret, with rare exceptions. During
282-676: Is a member of the Advisory Board at Glasswall Solutions. McGuinness was a member of the Oxford Technology and Elections Commission on Technology OxTEC. which made a series of recommendations aimed at securing the information infrastructure of elections and creating a trusted environment for the democratic use of technology reported in October 2019. In January 2018 the Sunday Times newspaper reported that McGuinness
329-574: Is directed by the Cabinet , a group of senior government ministers led by the Prime Minister . Most of the day-to-day work of the Cabinet is carried out by Cabinet committees , rather than by the full Cabinet. Each committee has its own area of responsibility, and their decisions are binding on the entire Cabinet. The details of the committee structure and membership are at the discretion of
376-588: Is needed. When the Prime Minister is unable to attend Cabinet or the chair and any deputy chair of a Cabinet committee are absent, the next most senior minister in the ministerial ranking should take the chair. Committee membership is limited to ministers, but non-ministers may attend in some cases. In particular, the National Security Council is routinely attended by senior military, intelligence and security officials. Members of
423-478: Is now the High Commissioner to Pakistan. Turner was replaced by David Quarrey in July 2019. It was reported on 14 January 2018 that Paddy McGuinness was leaving the national security secretariat. His successor as deputy national security adviser for intelligence, security and resilience, Richard Moore, announced his appointment on 8 January via his personal Twitter account. Moore's tenure as deputy NSA
470-621: Is the "lead" for the emergency in question. That subcommittee however has disestablished as of 2021. During the post-Second World War period, in addition to standing committees, there were ad hoc committees that were convened to handle a single issue. These were normally short-lived. Each was given a prefix of Gen or Misc and a number. Gen 183, for example, was the Committee on Subversive Activities. Between 1945 and 1964, Gen (for general) committees were sequentially numbered from 1 to 881 in order of formation. Committee minutes and papers follow
517-1009: The City of London Corporation (2017–2022). McGuinness joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1985. His first overseas posting was as Second Secretary in Sana'a from 1988 to 1991. After that, he served as First Secretary in Abu Dhabi from 1994 to 1996, then as Counsellor in Cairo from 1996 to 1999 and in Rome from 2003 to 2006. McGuinness was appointed the Deputy National Security Adviser for Intelligence, Security, and Resilience in 2014, taking over from Oliver Robbins and replaced by Richard Moore. He advised first PM David Cameron then Theresa May and reported to
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#1732787579519564-603: The Civil Contingencies Secretariat ; Security & Intelligence; the Office of Cyber Security and Information Assurance, and UK Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT UK). As of 10 February 2015, Liane Saunders – previously the National Security Secretariat's Director for Foreign Policy and its Afghanistan/Pakistan Coordinator – was described as an Acting Deputy National Security Adviser (Conflict, Stability and Foreign Policy). On 16 June 2016,
611-849: The Cloud Act . His written evidence is here . On 15 June 2017 he then appeared in front of the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives. He has published a number of articles in US newspapers and online. McGuinness represented the Cabinet Office on the Defence and Security Media Advisory Committee formerly known as the D-Notice Committee. In January 2016 McGuinness provided written testimony to
658-495: The Government Secure Intranet ). Notes taken at meetings for the purpose of preparing the official minutes are destroyed once the minutes have been written. The minutes do not generally link points made in discussion to the specific people who made them. Future governments may not be permitted to see the cabinet papers of their predecessors, if there has been a change of party. Access in this case requires
705-731: The National Cyber Security Centre . McGuinness was the UK's principal public advocate for the Cloud Act . On 24 May 2017 McGuinness became the first serving British official to testify to a Congressional Committee when he joined Richard W Downing of the US Department of Justice before the US Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism advocating for lawful access to data to counter Serious Organised Crime through
752-567: The National Security Adviser who is Secretary to the National Security Council , alongside the other Deputy National Security Adviser for Foreign and Defence Policy. As DNSA McGuinness was the Senior Responsible Officer for the UK's two five-year National Cyber Security Programmes overseeing the development of and response to the 2016 National Cyber Security Strategy and through that the launch of
799-570: The Second World War , details of the War Cabinet structure were communicated to Parliament; Winston Churchill had previously announced a Standing Committee on National Expenditure in his 1925 Budget statement. The existence and membership of the Defence and Overseas Policy Committee was announced in 1963, coinciding with the amalgamation of the service ministries into a single Ministry of Defence . Margaret Thatcher confirmed
846-556: The Cabinet Office in November 2022. In addition to cabinet committees there are five Mission Boards on growth, clean energy, safer streets, opportunities and health. The Mission Boards are chaired by the respective lead Secretaries of State with a remit to oversee the relevant mission. There are several committees for which the Cabinet Office is administratively responsible, but which are not Cabinet committees. These include
893-409: The Cabinet Office released staff data, correct as of 31 March 2016, listing two current Deputy National Security Advisers: Paddy McGuinness (responsible for Intelligence, Security and Resilience) and then Brigadier Gwyn Jenkins (responsible for Conflict, Stability & Defence). Jenkins appeared to have been in post since at least June 2015. Prior to becoming a deputy National Security Adviser, Jenkins
940-557: The Deputy National Security Adviser for Intelligence, Security, and Resilience in the Cabinet Office , from 2014 to January 2018. Born at Oxford to Professors Rosamond McGuinness and Brian McGuinness , he attended Ampleforth College before going up to Balliol College, Oxford , taking a BA in modern history. He has a sister Catherine McGuinness who chaired the Policy and Resources Committee of
987-652: The Integrated Review on diplomacy, development and defence'. Sizeland's appointment was confirmed in an oral evidence by Mark Sedwill, however, as of 25 May 2020, her appointment has not been updated on the Cabinet Office website. As of October 2020, Quarrey has taken over the post of acting NSA while Lord Frost remains Chief Negotiator for the European Union talks. On 29 January 2021, it was announced that Stephen Lovegrove , not Frost, would be appointed as National Security Adviser. In April 2022, Quarrey
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#17327875795191034-490: The NSC to allow Huawei to bid for 'non-core' elements of the construction of the prospective 5G network . In the early months of Johnson's premiership, several sub-committees of the NSC ceased to exist. Additionally, the NSC met weekly during the ministries of David Cameron and Theresa May , but didn't meet at all between January and May 2020, under Boris Johnson . Johnson's non-use of the NSC has been criticised. The Council
1081-827: The National Security Council's membership is as follows: Other ministers and senior officials attend the NSC and National Security Ministers (NSM) where applicable. These other figures have been noted to include the Chief of the Defence Staff (not the individual chiefs of each service), the heads of intelligence agencies and the Leader of the Opposition . Stakeholders including the devolved governments, local authorities and external experts are also consulted in preparation for meetings. The size and shape of
1128-461: The National Security Secretariat (NSS) and its senior leadership has fluctuated since its inception in May 2010. From July 2010, there were two Deputy National Security Advisers (DNSAs): Julian Miller for Foreign & Defence Policy and Oliver Robbins for Intelligence, Security & Resilience. By March 2013, Hugh Powell – previously a National Security Secretariat Director – had been promoted to
1175-545: The Prime Minister . The Prime Minister is free to reorganize committees, assign responsibilities, and can appoint or dismiss committee members freely. The sole limitation is the requirement that Cabinet ministers must be sworn members of the Privy Council , since the Cabinet itself is a committee of the Privy Council. Although there have been many changes since the Cabinet committee system was first developed in
1222-556: The Prime Minister's office – including the Prime Minister themselves – may attend any committee. The Prime Minister's attendance does not mean that they will chair the committee, despite being the most senior Cabinet member present, though they may choose to do so. In the 2010 coalition government , each Cabinet committee included members of both the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats . Furthermore,
1269-526: The Undercover Policing Inquiry on the importance of the "Neither Confirm Nor Deny" principle for National Security. McGuinness is an Adviser at Brunswick Group advising on crisis and resilience issues, providing senior counsel to clients on ever-evolving business and political risk. McGuinness is a co-founder of Oxford Digital Health an Oxford University spinout providing software as a service to transform healthcare. McGuinness
1316-632: The United Kingdom and integrates at the highest level the work of relevant government entities with respect to national security. The council reflected the central coordination of national security issues seen in the Committee of Imperial Defence , which operated from 1902 until 1947, while also being partly modelled on the United States National Security Council . The first National Security Adviser (NSA)
1363-583: The allocation each department is to receive. The Legislation committee allocates time for government bills to be considered in Parliament , coordinates the writing and handling of these bills in general, and is responsible for the Queen's Speech . Previously, there had been two committees, one for considering future legislation and another to deal with bills during their passage through Parliament. Departments who wish to make new primary legislation must apply to
1410-419: The approval of the former Prime Minister, or of the Leader of the Opposition . The few exceptions relate to papers of an expressly non-political nature, such as legal advice or international agreements. Retired ministers wishing to write their memoirs are given access to papers from their tenure, but are usually not allowed to borrow them from the Cabinet Office archive. This table follows the document issued by
1457-524: The committee for a slot in the legislative programme , as well as obtaining clearance from the relevant policy committee. In an emergency, the National Security Council (Threats, Hazards, Resilience and Contingencies) subcommittee can meet in an operational configuration. This arrangement was previously named as the Civil Contingencies Committee . In this case, the chair is taken by the minister for whichever government department
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1504-460: The committee stated that the fund was secretive and "There is a risk that the CSSF is being used as a 'slush fund' [for projects that do not] meet the needs of UK national security", fund spending at the country level was disclosed and an annual report produced. In April 2019, an inquiry, which could lead to criminal proceedings, was announced into the leaking to The Daily Telegraph of a decision by
1551-548: The continuing existence of this committee in the House of Commons in 1979, along with standing committees for Economic Strategy, Home and Social Affairs, and Legislation. The secrecy was due to the concern that public knowledge of Cabinet procedure would lead to a loss of faith in collective responsibility (if it became known that only a subset of the Cabinet had been involved in making a given decision) and undue pressure being put on committee chairs once their specific policy responsibilities became known. Whether decisions were made by
1598-419: The early twentieth century, the committees for foreign and military policy, domestic policy, economic policy, and the government's legislative agenda have been more or less permanent fixtures. These and many other committees are standing committees , which have a broad remit; others are ad hoc committees , which are established to deal with specific matters. Ad hoc committees are rarer now than throughout most of
1645-535: The entire Cabinet, or by a committee, is not revealed at present. Cabinet committees are shadowed by "official committees" made up of civil servants from the relevant departments. Official committees follow a thirty-year secrecy rule with respect to their existence and membership. Most committees exist for the coordination of policy in some specific area. Some committees, however, have a special role in managing government business, and accordingly have different procedures. The Public Expenditure Committee (PEX) plays
1692-527: The general pattern was for committees to have a chair and a deputy chair, one from each party. There was a Coalition Committee, and an operational working group, to handle appeals over coalition disputes and to plan future policy. Former committees with non-ministers as full members include the Economic Advisory Council, whose membership was made up of a combination of ministers and experts in economics. The Committee of Imperial Defence ,
1739-584: The members). The 1939-45 figures do not include the Joint Intelligence Committee , Joint Planning Staff, or the Combined Chiefs of Staff . Paddy McGuinness (civil servant) Patrick Joseph McGuinness CMG OBE (born 27 April 1963) is a former senior British civil servant who now advises businesses and governments globally on their resilience, crisis, technology, data and cyber issues. McGuinness served as
1786-449: The same secrecy rules as for the full Cabinet. Documents are generally handled on a need-to-know basis, and so may not be available to ministers who do not serve on the relevant committee. Some materials may be classified as being available exclusively to the named members of the committee, and particularly sensitive papers may be kept in a secure room and read only under supervision. Papers may be distributed physically or electronically (via
1833-416: The twentieth century. Many matters are now expected to be resolved bilaterally between departments, or through more informal discussion, rather than requiring the formation of a committee. The 2015 government introduced "Implementation Taskforces" to address specific cross-cutting priorities. These are to report to the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and Cabinet approval is still required if collective agreement
1880-475: The various 'official' committees, which mostly shadow the Cabinet committees but with civil servants rather than ministers as members. Some others are: An approximate count of committees up to and during the Second World War was given by Wilson as follows. This excludes committees which did not have at least one meeting (several of these existed solely as a means for documents to be circulated among
1927-555: Was also appointed on 12 May 2010. They act as the council's secretary.The incumbent NSA is Sir Tim Barrow . From 1 April 2015 the council oversaw the newly created Conflict, Stability and Security Fund , a fund of more than £1 billion per year for tackling conflict and instability abroad. Following a critical inquiry into the fund by the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy in 2016, where
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1974-780: Was appointed as the UK's Permanent Representative to NATO. He was succeeded by Sarah Macintosh. Beth Sizeland was succeeded by Matthew Collins at an unknown date and the title was retitled as Deputy National Security Adviser (Intelligence, Defence and Security). United Kingdom cabinet committee [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee The British government
2021-486: Was briefly renamed the Foreign Policy and Security Council (FPSC) under Prime Minister Liz Truss . The list of Cabinet Committees published 3 November 2022, confirmed the name had been changed back to National Security Council under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak . In September 2024, it was reported that Prime Minister Keir Starmer had begun holding weekly meetings for the first time in years. As of October 2024,
2068-457: Was established on 12 May 2010 by Prime Minister David Cameron . The NSC formalised national security decision making, which had previously been carried out in informal groups largely composed of officials. It increased the power of the Prime Minister , who chairs the council, and brought senior Cabinet ministers into national security policy making, giving them access to the highest levels of intelligence. It coordinates responses to threats faced by
2115-535: Was made permanent under John Major , under the name "EDX", and placed under the chairmanship of the Chancellor of the Exchequer . From 1998 to 2010 the same committee (by then called "PX", and later "PSX") also monitored departments' fulfillment of Public service agreements . While such agreements are no longer used, the committee retains its role in examining departmental expenditure, and will advise Cabinet on
2162-468: Was relatively brief (circa three months), ending in early April when he returned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as Political Director, a move he also announced via Twitter on 8 April. Although unconfirmed publicly by the UK government, Madeleine Alessandri had replaced Moore as the second deputy national security adviser. However, in September 2018, Alessandri's name and appointment was mentioned in
2209-424: Was the military assistant to prime minister David Cameron . As of April 2017, it was announced that a diplomat, Christian Turner , had replaced Jenkins as the second Deputy National Security Adviser, with a portfolio comprising 'foreign and defence policy.' According to one of Turner's tweets, dated 13 April 2017, his first week as Deputy National Security Adviser was the week commencing Monday 10 April 2017. Turner
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