Honours Committee

Honours Committee
Committee overview
Formed 2005 (reorganisation)
Headquarters 70 Whitehall, London SW1A 2AS
Committee executive
Parent department Cabinet Office

The Honours Committee is a committee within the Cabinet Office of the Government of the United Kingdom formed to review nominations for national honours for merit, exceptional achievement or service. Twice yearly the Honours Committee submits formal recommendations for the British monarch's New Years and Birthday Honours. Members of the Honours Committee—which comprises a main committee and nine subcommittees in speciality areas—research and vet nominations for national awards, including knighthoods and the Order of the British Empire.[1]

History

The honours system is an ancient one, particularly in Britain; Æthelstan, King of the English in the 10th century, was knighted by his grandfather, Alfred the Great. Knighthoods were originally conferred as a military honour, often on the battlefield. Later it became customary for only the reigning monarch to bestow the honour.[2] Other honours beyond knighthood were later established, including the Order of the Bath in 1725.[3] In the 20th century, the "Ceremonial Branch" of the government was created in 1937 with the sole purpose of overseeing the honours system. In 2001, the committee became officially known as the Ceremonial Honours and Appointments Secretariat.[4]

Since 1993, members of the public have been eligible to nominate individuals;[5] government agencies may also formally put forward candidates. All citizens of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth nations can be nominated.[6][7]

Following his retirement as Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Office, Sir Hayden Phillips prepared a report in July 2004 to the Cabinet Secretary suggesting a reform of the current honours nomination system. The next year, following recommendations made in Phillips' report, a new system of eight committees was organised, with each committee focussing on a special area. (In 2012, an additional committee was added.)[1] The committees are composed of senior civil servants and independent experts in specific fields.[7] The majority of the honours committees are non-civil servants.[1]

Each subcommittee oversees nominations for its specialised area: Arts and Media; Community, Voluntary and Local Services; Economy; Education; Health; Parliamentary and Political Service; Science and Technology; Sport; and State.[8] The individual committees assess the nominations and pass the nominations to the Main Honours Committee, whose members select the final list of nominations that are passed to the Queen by the Prime Minister.[7]

Following the Cash for Honours scandal, the Main Honours Committee is required to determine that an individual's nomination for an honour has not been influenced by campaign and political contributions. According to the Cabinet Office's 2011 report, "The Main Honours Committee must satisfy itself that a party political donation has not influenced the decision to award an honour in any way; the committee must be confident that the candidate would have been a meritorious recipient of an honour if he or she had not made a political donation."[9]

The Cabinet's Honours Committee nominates civilians only; military honours, such as the Victoria Cross and the George Cross, are sent to the Queen by the Honours and Decorations Committee of the Ministry of Defence.[10] The honours committee also does not make nominations for peerages, which are created directly by the monarch.

Committees

Main committee

Arts and media

Community, voluntary and local services

Economy

Education

Health

Parliamentary and political service

Science and technology

Sport

State

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Honours Committee Post: Background" (PDF). Cabinet Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "Knighthoods". Official Website of the British Monarchy. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "The Honours System: Second Report of Session 2012–13" (PDF). House of Commons of the United Kingdom. 17 July 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Recognising exceptional achievement or service". Government of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 14 February 2006. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "The honours nomination process explained". Government of Northern Ireland. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "Honours nomination". Official Website of the British Monarchy. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 "Guide to the Honours". BBC. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Honours Committees". Cabinet Office. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "Second Report on Operation of the Reformed Honours System (November 2011)" (PDF). Cabinet Office. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "Military Honours and Awards". Official Website of the British Monarchy. Retrieved 12 April 2015.

Coordinates: 51°30′13.5″N 0°7′35.8″W / 51.503750°N 0.126611°W / 51.503750; -0.126611

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