New releases
What has been digitised?
Core records of the British Cabinet from 1915 to 1978 have been digitised, and their full text is searchable online from these web pages. These include:
- Conclusions of cabinet meetings - the formal records of the discussions and decisions of cabinet
- Cabinet memoranda - the reports and papers given to cabinet ministers prior to cabinet meetings, giving background and forming the basis on which decisions were made
- Cabinet Secretary's notebooks - handwritten notebooks of the Cabinet Secretary, forming the first draft of the formal conclusions. They can give a much fuller flavour of cabinet discussions and differences between ministers. These notebooks have only survived from 1942 onwards and are gradually being released by the Cabinet Office following sensitivity checks and transcription.
- The Cabinet Office precedent books - short volumes describing Cabinet procedures and the Cabinet Office, providing context for the rest of the collection
- The National Archives Catalogue references for the series of files that have been digitised as a part of this project are: CAB 23, CAB 24, CAB 65, CAB 66, CAB 67, CAB 68, CAB 128, CAB 129, CAB 181, CAB 195
What have not been digitised are other records of the Cabinet Office, including those of the various Cabinet Committees and those bodies associated with the Cabinet such as the Chiefs of Staff Committee. Prior to 1916 meetings of cabinets were not formally minuted and do not exist! The best way to discover what was discussed is to investigate the diaries, letters and memoirs of cabinet ministers at the time, or look at the Prime Minister's regular letters to the Sovereign, which included summaries of matters discussed at Cabinet.
What is coming up?
It is planned that further Cabinet Secretary's notebooks will be digitised as they become available where possible. Cabinet records are regularly released to the public throughout the year, usually 30 years after they have been created; in adherence with the 30-year rule. The main conclusions and memoranda of Cabinet are generally released at New Year. The conclusions and memoranda for cabinet meetings of 1978 have been made available and are searchable online from these webpages. These will be digitised and made available alongside the previous records on these web pages, in 2009.
