Government departments and agencies
Departments and their agencies are responsible for putting government policy into practice.
Government departments
Some departments, like the Ministry of Defence, cover the whole UK. Others don’t – the Department for Work and Pensions doesn’t cover Northern Ireland. This is because some aspects of government are devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Non-ministerial departments are headed by senior civil servants and not ministers. They usually have a regulatory or inspection function like the Charity Commission.
Executive agencies
These are part of government departments and usually provide government services rather than decide policy – which is done by the department that oversees the agency.
An example is the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (overseen by the Department for Transport).
Other public bodies
These have varying degrees of independence but are directly accountable to ministers. There are 4 types of non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs).
Executive NDPBs do work for the government in specific areas – for example, the Environment Agency.
Advisory NDPBs provide independent, expert advice to ministers – for example, the Committee on Standards in Public Life.
Tribunal NDPBs are part of the justice system and have jurisdiction over a specific area of law – for example, the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
Independent monitoring boards are responsible for the running of prisons and treatment of prisoners – for example, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons.
