Every UK Government minister has a private office – a small team of public servants dedicated to supporting ministerial duties and decisions.

New ministers often come in with little idea of how they can set up effective ways of working with their private office – and they may like to consider how they can improve systems when they move role or department. This resource for private office teams is a guide for a conversation with ministers about how they want things to work in the office. It sets out key questions to ask the minister, and includes examples of how previous ministers have chosen to operate.

This guide offers a wide-ranging overview of ministers’ ways of working, which could be used as part of several early discussions with the minister. It also highlights the key questions to ask in the first week, to lay an initial foundation.