Non-ministerial government departments (NMGDs) are a type of
department of the
United Kingdom government that deal with matters for which direct political oversight has been judged unnecessary or inappropriate. They are headed by
senior civil servants. Some fulfil a
regulatory or inspection function, and their status is therefore intended to protect them from political interference. Some are headed by a permanent office holder, such as a
Permanent Secretary or
Second Permanent Secretary
A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil se ...
.
[Government Departments and Agencies](_blank)
, Government, Citizens and Rights, DirectGov.
Overview
The status of an NMGD varies considerably from one to another. For example:
[How to be a Civil Servant](_blank)
, What is a Civil Servant?
* Senior officials in
HM Revenue and Customs
HM Revenue and Customs (His Majesty's Revenue and Customs, or HMRC) is a non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial Departments of the United Kingdom Government, department of the His Majesty's Government, UK Government responsible fo ...
work closely with cabinet ministers. Its key policies are set each year in the Finance Act. However, neither ministers nor Parliament can interfere in day-to-day taxation decisions.
* A number of NMGDs are highly independent bodies; for example the
Charity Commission
, type = Non-ministerial government department
, seal =
, seal_caption =
, logo = Charity Commission for England and Wales logo.svg
, logo_caption =
, formed =
, preceding1 =
, ...
,
Ofsted and economic regulators such as the
Competition and Markets Authority or the
Postal Services Commission
The Postal Services Commission, known as Postcomm, was a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom charged with overseeing the quality and universal service of post in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2000 under ...
. These bodies are "creatures of statute": – that is they implement legislation which they have no power to change. Their political independence is assured by providing that they have the status of government departments, but are accountable only to Parliament and the courts. Their budgets are usually set by the Treasury, not by the department which set them up, and they are often funded by licence fees paid by the industries which they regulate.
* The
Food Standards Agency is an NMGD which was created by merging two large parts of the Departments of Health and what was then the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The aim was to reassure the public (after the
BSE/
vCJD crisis) that decisions about food safety would in future be taken by an independent body free of political control. Because the FSA was designed to take politics out of food safety, it does not seek ministerial approval for its actions.
List of non-ministerial departments
A list of NMGDs is maintained by the
Cabinet Office, which currently states that the following 20 are in existence:
[Non-ministerial Departments](_blank)
Retrieved 2 January 2020
*
Charity Commission for England and Wales
*
Competition and Markets Authority
*
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal ad ...
*
Food Standards Agency
*
Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England.
The Forestry Commission was previously also respo ...
*
Government Actuary's Department
*
Government Legal Department
*
His Majesty's Land Registry
*
His Majesty's Revenue and Customs
*
The National Archives
National archives are central archive, archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives.
Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by government ...
*
National Crime Agency
*
National Savings and Investments
*
Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted)
*
Office of Gas and Electricity Markets
, type = Non-ministerial government department
, nativename =
, nativename_a =
, nativename_r =
, logo = Ofgem logo.svg
, logo_width = 124px
, logo_caption =
, seal =
, seal_width =
, seal_caption =
, picture =
, picture_wid ...
(Ofgem)
*
Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual)
*
Office of Rail and Road
*
Serious Fraud Office
*
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the United ...
*
UK Statistics Authority
*
Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Non-Ministerial Government Department
Government institutions
Lists of government agencies by country
Political terminology
Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom