The Ministerial head of the Privy Council Office is the President of the Council.  The Privy Council Office provides Secretariat services for the Privy Council (that part of Her Majesty's Government which advises on the exercise of prerogative powers and certain functions assigned to The Queen and the Council by Act of Parliament). Much of the day-to-day work of the Privy Council Office is concerned with the affairs of Chartered Bodies, the 900 or so institutions, charities and companies who are incorporated by Royal Charter. The Privy Council also has an important part to play in respect of certain statutory regulatory bodies covering a number of professions and in the world of higher education.

Another major function of the Privy Council, exercised through its Judicial Committee, is the provision of a final Court of Appeal for a number of Commonwealth countries who have chosen to retain it. The Judicial Committee also deals with appeals from medical and veterinary disciplinary bodies and in certain ecclesiastical cases. The Committee consists of Lords of Appeal in Ordinary and some senior commonwealth judges. The Judicial Committee is also responsible for considering devolution issues (that is questions of whether acts of the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are fully in accordance with the legislation which set them up).