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.^[1] There are currently 24 ministerial departments, 20 non-ministerial departments, and 422 agencies and other public bodies, for a total of 465 departments.^[2]

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		The Rt Hon The Lord Hermer PC KC Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland	Douglas Wilson OBE Director-General	[3][4]
Cabinet Office		The Rt Hon Pat McFadden MP Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	The Rt Hon Simon Case CVO Cabinet Secretary, Head of the Civil Service Catherine Little CB Permanent Secretary	[5]
Department for Business and Trade		The Rt Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP Secretary of State for Business and Trade and President of the Board of Trade	Gareth Davies CB Permanent Secretary	[6][7]
Department for Culture, Media and Sport		The Rt Hon Lisa Nandy MP Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport	Susannah Storey Permanent Secretary	[8][9]
Department for Education		The Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson MP Secretary of State for Education	Susan Acland-Hood Permanent Secretary	[10][11]
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero		The Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero	Jeremy Pockington CB Permanent Secretary
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs		The Rt Hon Steve Reed OBE MP Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs	Tamara Finkelstein CB Permanent Secretary	[12][13]
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology		The Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology	Sarah Munby Permanent Secretary
Department for Transport		The Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP Secretary of State for Transport	Dame Bernadette Kelly DCB Permanent Secretary	[14][15]
Department for Work and Pensions		The Rt Hon Liz Kendall MP Secretary of State for Work and Pensions	Sir Peter Schofield KCB Permanent Secretary	[16][17]
Department of Health and Social Care		The Rt Hon Wes Streeting MP Secretary of State for Health and Social Care	Sir Chris Wormald KCB Permanent Secretary	[18][19]
Export Credits Guarantee Department (trading as UK Export Finance)		The Rt Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP Secretary of State for Business and Trade and President of the Board of Trade	Tim Reid Chief Executive	[20][21]
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office		The Rt Hon David Lammy MP Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs	Sir Philip Barton KCMG OBE Permanent Secretary	[22][23]
HM Treasury		The Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP Chancellor of the Exchequer and Second Lord of the Treasury	James Bowler CB Permanent Secretary	[24][25]
Home Office		The Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP Secretary of State for the Home Department	Sir Matthew Rycroft KCMG CBE Permanent Secretary	[26][27]
Ministry of Defence		The Rt Hon John Healey MP Secretary of State for Defence	David Williams CB Permanent Secretary	[28][29]
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government		The Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and Deputy Prime Minister	Sarah Healey CB CVO Permanent Secretary	[30][31]
Ministry of Justice		The Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood KC MP Secretary of State for Justice and Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain[32][33]	Dame Antonia Romeo DCB Permanent Secretary & Clerk of the Crown in Chancery	[34]
Northern Ireland Office		The Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP Secretary of State for Northern Ireland	Julie Harrison Permanent Secretary	[35]
Office of the Advocate General for Scotland		The Rt Hon The Baroness Smith of Cluny KC[36][37] Advocate General for Scotland	Neil Taylor Director & Solicitor to the Advocate General[38]	[39]
Office of the Leader of the House of Commons[n 1]		The Rt Hon Lucy Powell MP[40][41] Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council	N/A	[42]
Office of the Leader of the House of Lords[n 1]		The Rt Hon The Baroness Smith of Basildon PC[40][43] Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal	N/A	[44]
Scotland Office		The Rt Hon Ian Murray MP[36][45] Secretary of State for Scotland	Laurence Rockey Director	[46] [47]
Wales Office		The Rt Hon Jo Stevens MP Secretary of State for Wales	Glynne Jones CBE Director[48]	[49]

Non-ministerial departments

Non-ministerial departments are headed by civil servants and usually have a regulatory or inspection function.^[50] A list of all non-ministerial departments is shown below.

Non-ministerial department	Ref.
Charity Commission for England and Wales	[2]
Competition and Markets Authority	[2]
Crown Prosecution Service	[2]
Food Standards Agency	[2]
Forestry Commission	[2]
Government Actuary's Department	[2]
Government Legal Department	[2]
HM Land Registry	[2]
HM Revenue & Customs	[2]
National Savings and Investments	[2]
The National Archives	[2]
National Crime Agency	[2]
Office of Rail and Road	[2]
Office of Gas and Electricity Markets	[2]
Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation	[2]
Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills	[2]
Serious Fraud Office	[2]
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom	[2]
UK Statistics Authority	[2]
Water Services Regulation Authority	[2]

Agencies and other public bodies

Government departments in this third and final category can generally be split into five types:^[50]

• 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

• Office of the Prime Minister
• Politics of the United Kingdom
• Civil Service

Notes

1. Part of the Cabinet Office.

References

1. "How government works". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
2. "Departments, agencies and public bodies". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
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4. "Attorney General's Office". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
5. "The Cabinet Secretary has appointed Cat Little as the new Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office". GOV.UK.
6. "Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 10 November 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
7. "Sarah Munby". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
8. "Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 5 April 2019.
9. "Sarah Healey". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 13 April 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
10. "Secretary of State for Education". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
11. "Susan Acland-Hood". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
12. "Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
13. "Tamara Finkelstein". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 19 March 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
14. "Secretary of State for Transport". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
15. "Bernadette Kelly CB". GOV.UK. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
16. "Secretary of State for Work and Pensions". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
17. "Peter Schofield". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
18. "Secretary of State for Health and Social Care". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
19. "Sir Chris Wormald KCB". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 14 September 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
20. "Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 23 July 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
21. "UK Export Finance". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 20 May 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
22. "Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2 September 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
23. "Sir Philip Barton KCMG OBE". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 24 December 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
24. "Chancellor of the Exchequer". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
25. "Tom Scholar". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
26. "Secretary of State for the Home Department". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
27. "Matthew Rycroft CBE". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
28. "Secretary of State for Defence". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
29. "David Williams". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
30. "Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
31. "Jeremy Pocklington". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
32. "Responsibilities: Oversight of all portfolios and Ministry of Justice strategy"
33. "The Rt Hon Alex Chalk KC MP". GOV.UK.
34. "Antonia Romeo". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 20 May 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
35. "Permanent Secretary for the Northern Ireland Office". Retrieved 18 November 2023.
36. "The Scotland Office and Office of the Advocate General for Scotland report to the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Advocate General for Scotland respectively."
37. "HM Advocate General for Scotland - GOV.UK". gov.uk.
38. "The Director of OAG is responsible for overseeing all legal services provided by OAG to the UK government, and for overseeing delivery of OAG's objectives as set out in its Business Plan."
39. "Office of the Advocate General for Scotland". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
40. "List of Ministerial Responsibilities Including Executive Agencies and Non-Ministerial Departments" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. July 2023.
41. "About us". Office of the Leader of the House of Commons. gov.uk.
42. "Office of the Leader of the House of Commons". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
43. "About us".
44. "Office of the Leader of the House of Lords". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
45. "Secretary of State for Scotland - GOV.UK". gov.uk.
46. "Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 21 January 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
47. "Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland". Retrieved 6 July 2024.
48. "Glynne Jones CBE". GOV.UK.
49. "Office of the Secretary of State for Wales". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 22 January 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
50. "How government works". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2021.

External links

• How government works - GOV.UK
• Departments, agencies and public bodies - GOV.UK