The Prime Minister will convene his Cabinet in Birmingham today, the first time it has met outside London since Lloyd George's premiership in 1921.

The idea of the Westminster Cabinet decamping from Downing Street was mooted by Communities Secretary Hazel Blears earlier this year, but little more was heard about it until a month ago when it was confirmed that such a meeting in the West Midlands would kick-start the Prime Minister's autumn relaunch as a way of engaging with people outside London.

By that time, First Minister Alex Salmond had already launched his Scottish Cabinet's summer roadshow, meeting in Dumfries, Inverness, Pitlochry and Skye. The Inverness meeting was at the very venue where Lloyd George convened his 1921 meeting.

Mr Salmond's events, which he has said will be repeated during future parliamentary recesses, involved receptions for participants in local good causes and public meetings as part of the National Conversation process, and there are echoes of this in the Westminster plans.

A Downing Street spokesman said of today's Birmingham meeting: "This isn't simply about changing the scenery of the Cabinet, it is about the Cabinet as a whole spending time in the region, talking to local people, businesses and local organisations about the issues they face."

The main Cabinet meeting will take place at the International Convention Centre from 1.30pm to around 3pm. This morning Ministers will be involved in visits themed around manufacturing, health, jobs and skills, and community policing.

They will then meet more than 200 members of the public - selected by a cross-section of local organisations including business, the public sector, charities and the media - for a series of roundtable discussions on issues affecting the region and the country such as the economy, health, education, jobs and crime. Following Cabinet, the Prime Minister will meet local civic leaders.

The main item on the agenda for Cabinet will be the economy. There will also be a discussion on issues relating to the West Midlands, led by the regional Minister for the West Midlands Liam Byrne. The Prime Minister, Chancellor, John Hutton and John Denham will also be launching the updated manufacturing strategy.