The Navy Department (Ministry of Defence) was a former ministerial service department of the

Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is the department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by His Majesty's Government, and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces. The MOD states that its principal objectives are to ...

responsible for the control and direction of

His Majesty's Naval Service His Majesty's Naval Service is the United Kingdom's naval warfare and maritime service. It consists of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marines Reserve and Naval Careers Service. The term Naval Ser ...

. It was established on 1 April 1964 when the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

was absorbed into a unified Ministry of Defence, where it became the Navy Department. Political oversight of the department originally lay with the

Minister of Defence for the Royal Navy The Minister of Defence for the Royal Navy was a senior ministerial appointment of the British Government established in April 1964. The office holder was the ministerial head of the Navy Department of the Ministry of Defence, and reported to the ...

(1964-1967) it then passed to the

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of Minister (government), government minist ...

for Defence for the Royal Navy (1967-1981), then later to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces (1981-1990) and finally the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (1991-1997). The departments military head was the

First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff The First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS) is the military head of the Royal Navy and Naval Service of the United Kingdom. The First Sea Lord is usually the highest ranking and most senior admiral to serve in the British Armed Fo ...

, (1964-1997) who was responsible for the day to day superintendence of the department. Following restructuring in 1997 the Navy Department as a ministerial department of the Ministry of Defence was abolished and following restructuring within the MOD the previous department became an operational grouping Ministry of Defence (Royal Navy) later called Ministry of Defence (Navy).

History

In 1959 the newly appointed Chief of the Defence Staff

Louis Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

implemented major changes with regards to defence policy one of which was the proposal to abolish the three existing service ministries the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

and recommended their staff and functions be absorbed into a new but enlarged Ministry of Defence, as separate Air, Army and Navy Departments but under the control of the new Defence Council and administered by the Defence Board (committee) and Defence Secretariat. On 1 April 1964 the Admiralty was absorbed in the unified Ministry of Defence, where it became the Navy Department. The new unified ministry marked the start of a period which saw increasing pressure to improve efficiency and increase the effectiveness of the administrative functions of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence. It was mostly organised on a joint rather than an 'integrated' or 'functional' basis in that sections of the Naval, Army and Air Staffs with similar responsibilities remained separate within their own departments, but were brought together in joint committees. The new organisation included three ministers of state who headed and implemented policy within the Navy, Army and Air Departments. The

(1964-1967) had responsibilities across the whole of the defence field for international policy, personnel and logistics, and research development and production, although they did not have executive responsibilities that remained with the

Secretary of State for Defence The secretary of state for defence, also referred to as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Ministry of Defence. The incumbent is a membe ...

. The Minister of State for the Royal Navy was assisted by a

for Defence for the Royal Navy (1964-1981) and a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

the Second Permanent Under-Secretary for the Royal Navy. This article contains some copied content from this source, which is available under th
Open Government Licence v3.0
© Crown copyright. In 1967 saw a re-organisation of the ministry aimed at moving towards a functional rather than service based structure. The three single service ministerial posts were replaced by two functional ministerial positions: Minister of Defence (Administration) (1967-1970) responsible for managing personnel and logistics for the entire defence establishment. He was assisted by Chief Adviser, Personnel and Logistics. Minister of Defence (Equipment) (1967–1970) responsible for managing research, development, production, procurement and sales. He was assisted by Chief Adviser (Projects), formerly the Chief Scientific Adviser. The positions of Head of Defence Sales and Deputy Under Secretary of State (Equipment) were created to assist the Minister of Defence (Equipment) in general questions of research and development, procurement and production and sales. The three single service departments, second permanent under secretaries were replaced by two functional second permanent under secretaries, for administration and equipment, and ministerial responsibility for the single service departments was delegated to the parliamentary under secretaries of state. The Navy Department was then brought under the control of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence for the Royal Navy. During the previous six years there had been a shift to a more centralised Ministry of Defence and gradually moving accountability away from the single service departments. In 1970 the

Heath ministry Edward Heath of the Conservative Party formed the Heath ministry and was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by Queen Elizabeth II on 19 June 1970, following the 18 June general election. Heath's ministry ended after the February ...

moved to reverse this trend through the appointment of three single service Parliamentary Under Secretaries of State appointed under one minister of state the Minister of State for Defence (1970-1981). In May 1981 the office of the Minister of State for Defence was separated and his previous procurement responsibilities led to the creation of a new Minister of Defence Procurement whilst his former logistical responsibilities were handed over to a new

Minister of State for the Armed Forces The minister of state for the armed forces is a mid-level ministerial position at the Ministry of Defence in the Government of the United Kingdom. When of Minister of State rank (until the appointment of James Heappey as a Parliamentary Under- ...

. At the same time the Under-Secreatries of State for the Army and Royal Air Force together with the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence for the Royal Navy were unified into a single post of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces who now had overall responsibility for the three service departments and in 1990 his title was changed to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence. In January 1997 the Navy Department as a service department with ministerial oversight ended and integrated into a new operating structure as an organisational grouping "Ministry of Defence (Royal Navy)", along with "Ministry of Defence, (Army)", "Ministry of Defence, (Airforce)", and "Ministry of Defence, (Staffs)". In 2005 the grouping "MOD (Royal Navy)" was changed to "MOD (Navy)". During this period of transition the majority of directorates from the previous department remained under supervision of the

First Sea Lord The First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS) is the military head of the Royal Navy and Naval Service of the United Kingdom. The First Sea Lord is usually the highest ranking and most senior admiral to serve in the British Armed ...

whilst others were distributed under the Defence Staff) (1964-1995) that was later given a new organisational grouping name the "Central Staffs" (1996-2005) In 2006 greater accountability and control over budgets, equipment and staffing led to the formation new organisational groups, Central Staffs became Central Top Level Budget (CTLB) whilst Ministry of Defence (Navy) was renamed Fleet Top Level Budget. A Top Level Budget (TLB) is a major organisational group of the MOD. In 2010 Fleet Top Level Budget was renamed Navy Command following the merger of the

Commander-in-Chief Fleet The Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET) was the admiral responsible for the operations of the ships, submarines and aircraft of the British Royal Navy from 1971 until April 2012. The post was subordinate to the First Sea Lord, the professional he ...

and the

Commander-in-Chief, Naval Home Command (Royal Navy) Naval Home Command administered training and garrison functions for the Royal Navy from 1969-2012. Its commander was Commander-in-Chief, Naval Home Command (CINCNAVHOME). History As the Royal Navy's size decreased during the Cold War, commands wer ...

. Navy Command is currently the Top Level Budget (holder) for the Royal Navy.

Ministers

This first office holders role was a continuation of the former

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

though now a non cabinet position who acted as chairman of the admiralty board on behalf of the Secretary of State for Defence. Prior to 1967 the navy departments Parliamentary Under Secretary of State was deputy under the Minister of State at the time his roles establishment it was a continuation of the office of the

Civil Lord of the Admiralty The Civil Lord of the Admiralty formally known as the Office of the Civil Lord of Admiralty also referred to as the Department of the Civil Lord of the Admiralty was a member of the Board of Admiralty who was responsible for managing the Royal N ...

after 1967 his role was elevated and he became the chairman of the admiralty board.

Naval staff

The Assistant Chief's of Naval Staff for the duration of the Navy Departments existence included ACNS, ACNS (Policy), ACNS (Operations), ACNS Operational Requirements, ACNS (Operations and Air) and ACNS (Warfare).

Civil servants

This office holders role was a continuation of the former

Permanent Secretary to the Admiralty The Permanent Secretary of the Admiralty was the permanent secretary at the Admiralty, the department of state in Great Britain responsible for the administration of the Royal Navy. He was head of the Admiralty Secretariat, later known as the '' D ...

Governance

Executive governance of the Navy Department was managed by several committees usually consisted of the above officials listed to the boards and offices they were appointed to.

References

Sources

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