List of Northern Ireland ministers, government departments and executive agencies
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A list of Northern Ireland government departments, their agencies and their ministers and related organisations. The devolved government of Northern Ireland (the Northern Ireland Executive) is responsible for most public services in the region but some services are also provided by the United Kingdom Government and cross-border bodies under the North/South Ministerial Council. Public bodies take several forms with some reporting directly to their department (agencies) and others operating having more independence as they advise government (non-departmental public bodies).[1]
Below the regional tier of public bodies, public services are also provided by 11 local authorities, one educational authority and five health and social care trusts. Others are accountable directly to the Northern Ireland Assembly or to external organisations, like the European Union.
Ministers[]
- First Minister
- deputy First Minister
- Junior Ministers (accountable to the First Minister and deputy First Minister)
- Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
- Minister for Communities
- Minister for Education
- Minister for Economy
- Minister for Finance
- Minister for Health
- Minister for Infrastructure
- Minister for Justice
Law officers[]
- Attorney General for Northern Ireland (advisor to the Northern Ireland Executive)
- Advocate General for Northern Ireland (advisor to the United Kingdom Government, also Attorney General for England and Wales)[2]
Northern Ireland Executive agencies[]
- The Executive Office
- Non-Departmental Public Bodies:[3]
- Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (only involved with appointment of commissioner)
- Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland (only involved with appointment of the commissioner)
- Commission for Victims and Survivors for Northern Ireland
- Equality Commission for Northern Ireland
- Non-Departmental Public Bodies:[3]
- Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA)
- Advisory Bodies:
- (CNCC)
- Historic Buildings Council
- College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise
- Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA)
- Rivers Agency
- Non-Departmental Public Bodies:[4]
- Advisory Bodies:
- Department for Communities (DfC)[5]
- Child Maintenance Service
- Rent Assessment Panel
- Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI)
- Social Security Agency (SSA)
- Non-Departmental Public Bodies:
- Arts Council of Northern Ireland
- (non-executive)
- Charity Commission for Northern Ireland
- National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland
- (Libraries NI)
- Northern Ireland Screen
- Sports Council for Northern Ireland
- (overseeing role only, no funding involved)
- Public Corporation:
- Department of Education (DE)
- Further Education and Teacher Training Colleges:
- Non-Departmental Public Bodies:[6]
- Council for Catholic Maintained Schools
- Controlled Schools' Support Council
- General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland
- Education Authority
- Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education
- Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment
- Tribunal:
- Department for the Economy (DfE)
- Non-Departmental Public Bodies:[7]
- General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland
- Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI)
- Invest Northern Ireland
- Labour Relations Agency
- Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB)
- Office of The Industrial Tribunals and The Fair Employment Tribunal
- Public Corporation:
- Non-Departmental Public Bodies:[7]
- Department of Finance (DoF)
- (LPS)
- Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)
- Non-Departmental Public Bodies:[8]
- Tribunal:
- Department of Health (DoH)
- Health and Social Care Board
- Public Health Agency
- Non-Departmental Public Bodies:[9]
- Business Services Organisation
- (non-executive)
- Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust
- Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service
- Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service
- Northern Ireland Social Care Council
- (non-executive)
- Tribunals:
- (meets on an ad-hoc basis)
- Department for Infrastructure (DfI)[10]
- Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) (technically a public corporation)
- Transport NI
- Public Corporations:
- Trust Ports:
- Belfast Harbour Commissioners
- Londonderry Port & Harbour Commissioners
- Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) (technically a public corporation)
- Department of Justice (DOJ)
- Compensation Agency (Northern Ireland)
- Forensic Science Northern Ireland
- Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service
- Northern Ireland Prison Service
- Non-Departmental Public Bodies:[11]
- Northern Ireland Policing Board
- Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman
-
- Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)
- Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI)
- Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (PPSNI) Non-Ministerial Department
Local and sub-regional government[]
Local authorities[]
- Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council
- Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon District Council
- Belfast City Council
- Causeway Coast and Glens District Council
- Derry and Strabane District Council
- Fermanagh and Omagh District Council
- Lisburn and Castlereagh District Council
- Mid and East Antrim District Council
- Mid-Ulster District Council
- Newry, Mourne and Down District Council
- North Down and Ards District Council
UK Government[]
The following departments of the United Kingdom government and UK-wide public bodies operate in Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland Office (NIO)
The NIO is the UK department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs and is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who represents Northern Ireland interests at Cabinet level. It is responsible for the following public bodies:
Executive agencies (by department)
Non-departmental public bodies (outside NIO, by department)
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
- Ministry of Justice:
- Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland
- Information Commissioner's Office
Non-ministerial departments (answerable to Parliament)
Other regulators
- Bank of England
- Electoral Commission
- Office of Communications
Defence and security services
- British Armed Forces (principally the British Army)
- Security Service (MI5)
Public bodies operating from Great Britain
Several public bodies have a UK-wide remit for reserved and excepted matters in Northern Ireland but operate from Great Britain.
- :
- Department for Culture, Media and Sport:
- Ministry of Defence:
- Department of Energy and Climate Change:
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
- Department of Health:
- Ministry of Justice
- Department for Transport:
- HM Treasury:
- Financial Services Authority
- Royal Mint
- Non-ministerial departments:
North/South Ministerial Council[]
The North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) consists of Northern Ireland Executive and Irish Government ministers, and is designed to encourage co-operation between the two jurisdictions on Ireland. The similar British-Irish Council, which consists of ministers from all countries of the British Isles (also known as Britain and Ireland), has no related public bodies.
NSMC cross-border bodies:
- Food Safety Promotion Board
- Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission
- Loughs Agency
- Lights Agency (proposed)
- InterTradeIreland
- North/South Language Body
- Foras na Gaeilge
- Tha Boord o Ulstèr-Scotch (Ulster-Scots Agency)
- Special European Union Programmes Body (SEUPB)
- Tourism Ireland
- Waterways Ireland
External organisations[]
- Independent Monitoring Commission (accountable to UK Government and Irish Government)
- Irish Department of Foreign Affairs (through British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference joint secretariat)
- United States Department of State (US Consulate-General, Belfast)
Other public bodies[]
- Civic Forum for Northern Ireland (suspended)
- (NIAO)
- Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation
- Northern Ireland Ombudsman
See also[]
- Education in Northern Ireland
- Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland
- Local government in Northern Ireland
- Northern Ireland Assembly
- Northern Ireland Civil Service
- Northern Ireland Executive
- Northern Ireland Office
- Reserved matters
References[]
- ^ Departments, agencies and NDPBs, Home Civil Service, 15 November 2009 Archived 25 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Statement on Northern Ireland devolution, Attorney General's Office, 12 April 2010 Archived 5 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ http://www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/ofmdfm-annunal-reports-accounts-2012-2013.pdf
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ http://www.deni.gov.uk/2012-13_de_annual_report_and_accounts.pdf
- ^ http://www.detini.gov.uk/deti_resource_accounts_2012-13.pdf?rev=0
- ^ http://www.dfpni.gov.uk/dfp-resource-accounts-year-ended-31-march-2013.pdf
- ^ http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/12-13dra.pdf
- ^ http://www.drdni.gov.uk/index/publications/publications-details.htm?docid=9196
- ^ http://www.dojni.gov.uk/index/publications/publication-categories/pubs-departmental-business/doj-departmental-business/doj-annual-reports/annual-report-and-resource-accounts-2012-13.pdf
External links[]
- Northern Ireland Executive
- Northern Ireland politics-related lists
- Lists of government agencies by country
- Lists of organisations based in Northern Ireland