Brief a minister Task

Make your briefing concise, clear and easy to absorb. Ministers have extremely busy schedules with many meetings and visits, so may see your briefing for the first time during the meeting itself.

Cover

• information on who they will be meeting
• the issues to be discussed
• how to deal with any sensitive matters that might be raised

Remember

• give key objectives – what are we trying to achieve, what meeting attendees hope to achieve and ACME’s position
• include an agenda for focus and efficient use of time: agree items with external attendees and plan enough time to cover them
• provide brief background information on attendees (role, position on issues, relevant past activities)
• if the minister’s making an announcement or media will be present, ask Press Office for a Media Handling section, and copy in a press officer on the final circulated briefing draft
• send an electronic version of the briefing to the relevant minister’s support team email address two days before the meeting or visit and two flagged hard copies to Private Office