“Power to Act” is when Cabinet or the Prime Minister authorise a Cabinet committee, Minister, or group of Ministers to undertake a specific action with their authority. Ministers who are granted Power to Act must then report-back to Cabinet on what they did.
When Power to Act is authorised, the decision taken under that Power to Act by the Cabinet committee, Minister, or group of Ministers is final, and does not need to be confirmed by Cabinet. However, the authorised party will need to report-back to Cabinet through an oral item or Cabinet paper on the action that was taken.
Sometimes Power to Act will be sought for a Cabinet committee to take a decision, so that the result of that decision can be progressed or announced before Cabinet next meets (and confirms the decision taken by that Cabinet committee). A request for Power to Act should be sought by the portfolio Minister, through the request form below. These requests are raised as oral items at Cabinet, and approval is recorded in a Cabinet minute.
The Cabinet minute authorising the Power to Act will state which Cabinet committee or group of Ministers has the authorisation, the specific issue that the authority covers, and a date or time period when the authority may be exercised.
The Cabinet committee minute will also record that the decisions were made using the Power to Act authorised by Cabinet, and reference that Cabinet minute. Note that the relevant Cabinet paper does not need to include a recommendation noting that Power to Act has been sought.
Recommendations can also be included in Cabinet papers which seek authorisation for Power to Act for a Minister or group of Ministers to undertake an action with Cabinet's authority. For example: 'authorise the Minister of Health, in consultation with other Ministers as required, to confirm the terms of reference for the Example Health Board'. As noted above, once the Minister of Health had taken that decision, they would be required to provide an update to Cabinet on the terms of reference they had confirmed.
Power to Act can also be granted by the Prime Minister, as the Chair of Cabinet, at a meeting they are at, in cases where it is not possible to seek Cabinet’s authority in advance of the Cabinet committee meeting or in the time available. In such instances, the Minister’s office should get in touch with the relevant Cabinet committee secretary in the Cabinet Office (search in CabNet, or contact the Cabinet Office).
How to request Power to Act#
If a Minister needs to request Power to Act, then their office should complete the form below, and email it to the Cabinet Office at [email protected].