Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom

The Government of the United Kingdom is divided into departments that each have responsibility, according to the government, for putting government policy into practice. There are currently 24 ministerial departments, 20 non-ministerial departments, and 422 agencies and other public bodies, for a total of 465 departments.

Ministerial departments

Ministerial departments are generally the most high-profile government departments and differ from the other two types of government departments in that they include ministers. A list of all ministerial departments is shown below.

Ministerial department Minister responsible Civil servant responsible Ref.
Attorney General's Office Richard Hermer, Baron Hermer
Attorney General
Douglas Wilson
Director-General
Cabinet Office Darren Jones
Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister,
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster,
Minister for Intergovernmental Relations

Sir Chris Wormald
Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service

Catherine Little
Permanent Secretary

Department for Business and Trade Peter Kyle
Secretary of State for Business and Trade,
President of the Board of Trade
Gareth Davies
Permanent Secretary
Department for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Susannah Storey
Permanent Secretary
Department for Education Bridget Phillipson
Secretary of State for Education,
Minister for Women and Equalities
Susan Acland-Hood
Permanent Secretary
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Jeremy Pocklington
Permanent Secretary
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Emma Reynolds
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Paul Kissack
Permanent Secretary
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Liz Kendall
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Emran Mian
Permanent Secretary
Department for Transport Heidi Alexander
Secretary of State for Transport
Jo Shanmugalingam
Permanent Secretary
Department for Work and Pensions Pat McFadden
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Sir Peter Schofield
Permanent Secretary
Department of Health and Social Care Wes Streeting
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Samantha Jones
Permanent Secretary
Export Credits Guarantee Department
(trading as UK Export Finance)
Peter Kyle
President of the Board of Trade
Tim Reid
Chief Executive
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Yvette Cooper
Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Sir Olly Robbins
Permanent Secretary
HM Treasury Rachel Reeves
Chancellor of the Exchequer
James Bowler
Permanent Secretary
Home Office Shabana Mahmood
Secretary of State for the Home Department
Dame Antonia Romeo
Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Defence John Healey
Secretary of State for Defence
David Williams
Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Dame Sarah Healey
Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Justice David Lammy
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice,
Deputy Prime Minister
Jo Farrar
Permanent Secretary and Clerk of the Crown in Chancery
Northern Ireland Office Hilary Benn
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Julie Harrison
Permanent Secretary
Office of the Advocate General for Scotland Catherine Smith, Baroness Smith of Cluny
Advocate General for Scotland
Neil Taylor
Director and Solicitor to the Advocate General
Office of the Leader of the House of Commons Sir Alan Campbell
Lord President of the Council,
Leader of the House of Commons
N/A
Office of the Leader of the House of Lords Angela Smith, Baroness Smith of Basildon
Lord Privy Seal,
Leader of the House of Lords
N/A
Scotland Office Douglas Alexander
Secretary of State for Scotland
Laurence Rockey
Director

Wales Office Jo Stevens
Secretary of State for Wales
Glynne Jones
Director

Non-ministerial departments

Non-ministerial departments are headed by civil servants and usually have a regulatory or inspection function. A list of all non-ministerial departments is shown below.

Non-ministerial department Ref.
The Charity Commission
Competition and Markets Authority
Crown Prosecution Service
Food Standards Agency
Forestry Commission
Government Actuary's Department
Government Legal Department
HM Land Registry
HM Revenue & Customs
NS&I
The National Archives
National Crime Agency
Office of Rail and Road
Ofgem
Ofqual
Ofsted
Serious Fraud Office
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
UK Statistics Authority
The Water Services Regulation Authority

Agencies and other public bodies

Government departments in this third and final category can generally be split into five types:

  • Executive agencies, which usually provide government services rather than decide policy
  • Executive non-departmental public bodies, which do work for the government in specific areas
  • Advisory non-departmental public bodies, which provide independent and expert advice to ministers
  • Tribunal non-departmental public bodies, which are part of the justice system and have jurisdiction over a specific area of the law
  • Independent monitoring boards, which are responsible for the running of prisons and the treatment of prisoners

See also

Notes

  1. Part of the Cabinet Office.

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