The Government of the United Kingdom is divided into departments. These, according to the government, are responsible 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
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Minister responsible
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Civil servant responsible
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Attorney General's Office
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The Rt Hon Victoria Prentis KC MP Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland
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Douglas Wilson OBE Director-General
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Cabinet Office
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The Rt Hon Oliver Dowden CBE MP Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office
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Sir Alex Chisholm KCB Permanent Secretary
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Department for Business and Trade
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The Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP Secretary of State for Business and Trade and President of the Board of Trade
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Gareth Davies CB Permanent Secretary
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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The Rt Hon Lucy Frazer KC MP Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
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Susannah Storey Permanent Secretary
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Department for Education
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The Rt Hon Gillian Keegan MP Secretary of State for Education
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Susan Acland-Hood Permanent Secretary
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Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
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The Rt Hon Claire Coutinho MP Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
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Jeremy Pockington CB Permanent Secretary
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Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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The Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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Tamara Finkelstein CB Permanent Secretary
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Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
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The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
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Sarah Healey CB CVO Permanent Secretary
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Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
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The Rt Hon Michelle Donelan MP Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
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Sarah Munby Permanent Secretary
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Department for Transport
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The Rt Hon Mark Harper MP Secretary of State for Transport
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Dame Bernadette Kelly DCB Permanent Secretary
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Department for Work and Pensions
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The Rt Hon Mel Stride MP Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
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Peter Schofield CB Permanent Secretary
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Department of Health and Social Care
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The Rt Hon Victoria Atkins MP Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
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Sir Chris Wormald KCB Permanent Secretary
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Export Credits Guarantee Department (trading as UK Export Finance)
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The Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP Secretary of State for Business and Trade and President of the Board of Trade
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Tim Reid Chief Executive
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Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
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The Rt Hon The Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton PC Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
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Sir Philip Barton KCMG OBE Permanent Secretary
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HM Treasury
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The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP Chancellor of the Exchequer and Second Lord of the Treasury
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James Bowler CB Permanent Secretary
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Home Office
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The Rt Hon James Cleverly TD VR MP Secretary of State for the Home Department
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Sir Matthew Rycroft KCMG CBE Permanent Secretary
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Ministry of Defence
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The Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP Secretary of State for Defence
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David Williams CB Permanent Secretary
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Ministry of Justice
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The Rt Hon Alex Chalk KC MP Secretary of State for Justice and Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
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Antonia Romeo Permanent Secretary & Clerk of the Crown in Chancery
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Northern Ireland Office
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The Rt Hon Chris Heaton-Harris MP Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
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Julie Harrison Permanent Secretary
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Office of the Advocate General for Scotland
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The Rt Hon The Lord Stewart of Dirleton KC Advocate General for Scotland
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Neil Taylor Director & Solicitor to the Advocate General
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Office of the Leader of the House of Commons
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The Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council
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N/A
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Office of the Leader of the House of Lords
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The Rt Hon The Lord True CBE Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
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N/A
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Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland
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The Rt Hon Alister Jack DL MP Secretary of State for Scotland
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Lyn McDonald Temporary Director
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Office of the Secretary of State for Wales
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The Rt Hon David TC Davies Secretary of State for Wales
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Glynne Jones CBE Director
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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.
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
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Ministerial | |
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Non-ministerial | |
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