The
Cabinet Office has a primary responsibility to support the work of the
Prime Minister and ensure the effective running of government. Within this set-up, the Minister for the Cabinet Office has been seen to have varying responsibilities and stature in the government. The role is a flexible one and has variously been described as one or several of the following under different office-holders (and sometimes conflicting accounts of the status of the same office holder): • Monitoring the co-ordination of the work of government departments • Chairing or sitting on several Cabinet Committees • An additional title to indicate special responsibility • An additional title to indicate seniority The government describes the minister for the Cabinet Office as being "in overall charge of and responsible for the policy and work of the department, and attends Cabinet".
Damian Green held the office in 2017, simultaneously with the office of
First Secretary of State. Green chaired numerous
Cabinet Committees and filled in for the Prime Minister at
Prime Minister's Questions. By virtue of his responsibilities and as First Secretary of State, he was considered the
de facto Deputy Prime Minister. Upon the appointment of
David Lidington in 2018, Lidington retained the responsibilities Green had held, but the title of First Secretary of State remained vacant (as did the office of Deputy Prime Minister) until 2019. As a result, the office between 2017–2019 absorbed the responsibilities of a
de facto Deputy Prime Minister, without either of the associated titles usually granted to individuals in the British Government (First Secretary of State or Deputy Prime Minister). In 2019, new Prime Minister
Boris Johnson ended this arrangement with the appointment of a new
First Secretary of State,
Dominic Raab, before upgrading his title again to
Deputy Prime Minister in 2021. ==Current minister and responsibilities==