Cabinet minutes are distributed within 2 - 3 days of the Cabinet meeting. They are sent only to Ministers. Ministers usually receive two copies of a Cabinet minute. One copy is for the Minister and the other is for the Minister to give to the chief executive of the department, if the Minister wishes. If the Minister decides against sending the minute itself, the Minister may give the department a summary of the decision or extracts from it (together with the appropriate Cabinet minute reference number).
Cabinet minutes are issued that record the outcome of Cabinet's consideration of the previous week's Cabinet committee decisions. The outcome of Cabinet's consideration of the committee's decisions are recorded in Cabinet minutes entitled "The report of the [xx] Cabinet committee". These minutes detail in table format whether Cabinet confirmed or amended each decision. If a decision has been amended, it will be the subject of a separate Cabinet minute.
If a department is aware that it will need a minute or advice about a Cabinet decision urgently, it is helpful for the department to advise the Cabinet Office before the meeting, through the Minister's office. Requests to the Cabinet Office for early advice of Cabinet decisions should be made sparingly.
In some cases, Ministers or chief executives will need to consider conveying the substance of a Cabinet decision to Crown agencies administered within the Minister's portfolio where they have a close interest or involvement in implementing the decision.