Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to advise Her Majesty that an upper limit should be set on the size of the Privy Council.

There are currently no plans to advise Her Majesty to set an upper limit on the size of the Privy Council.

Appointment to the Privy Council is for life, but only serving Government ministers have a role in advising on Privy Council matters. Therefore the majority of Counsellors play no part in the Privy Council’s day-to-day business. Setting an upper limit could risk restricting essential new appointments, for example, in the event of a reshuffle or change of Government, as each member of the Cabinet must be a member of the Privy Council.