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Executive agency



 
 
An executive agency, also known as a next-step agency, is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate in order to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly or Northern Ireland Executive
Northern Ireland Executive

The Northern Ireland Executive is the Executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolution legislature for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998....
. Executive agencies are "machinery of government" devices distinct both from non-ministerial government departments and non-departmental public bodies (or "quangos"), each of which enjoy a real legal and constitutional separation from ministerial control.






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An executive agency, also known as a next-step agency, is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate in order to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly or Northern Ireland Executive
Northern Ireland Executive

The Northern Ireland Executive is the Executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolution legislature for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998....
. Executive agencies are "machinery of government" devices distinct both from non-ministerial government departments and non-departmental public bodies (or "quangos"), each of which enjoy a real legal and constitutional separation from ministerial control. The model was also applied in several other countries.

Size and scope

Agencies range from Her Majesty's Prison Service
Her Majesty's Prison Service

His/Her Majesty's Prison Service is the United Kingdom Executive Agency tasked with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales. .The Director-General, currently Phil Wheatley, is the administrator of the prison service....
 to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. The largest agency in terms of staff numbers is Jobcentre Plus
Jobcentre Plus

Jobcentre Plus is the government-funded employment agency facility and the social security office for working-age people in Great Britain. The agency was formed when the Employment Service, which operated Jobcentres and existed alongside separate social security benefits offices, merged with the Benefits Agency to become re-branded as Jobce...
, employing 100,000 people. The annual budget for each agency, allocated by Her Majesty's Treasury ranges from a few million pounds for the smallest agencies to £700m for the Court Service
Court Service

Court Service may refer to any of the following institutions:*Her Majesty's Courts Service, agency responsible for Courts administration in England and Wales...
 to £4bn for Jobcentre Plus. Virtually all government departments have at least one agency. The Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)

The Ministry of Defence is the Departments of the United Kingdom Government responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
 has 36, the most of any department.

Issues and reports

The initial success or otherwise of executive agencies was examined in the Sir Angus Fraser's Fraser Report of 1991. Its main goal was to identify what good practices had emerged from the new model and spread them to other agencies and departments. The report also recommended further powers be devolved from ministers to chief executives.

A whole series of reports and white paper
White paper

A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that often addresses problems and how to solve them. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions....
s examining governmental delivery were published throughout the 1990s, under both Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservative Party, is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom....
 and Labour
Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the Left-wing politics in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently organised again....
 governments. During these the agency model became the standard model for delivering public services in the United Kingdom. By 1997 76% of civil servants were employed by an agency. The new Labour government in its first such report – the 1998 Next Steps Report endorsed the model introduced by its predecessor. The most recent review (in 2002, linked below) made two central conclusions (their emphasis):

"The agency model has been a success. Since 1988 agencies have transformed the landscape of government and the responsive and effectives of services delivered by Government."
"Some agencies have, however, become disconnected from their departments ... The gulf between policy and delivery is considered by most to have widened."


The latter point, is usually made more forcibly by Government critics, describing agencies as "unaccountable quango
Quango

Quango or qango is an acronym used notably in the United Kingdom but also in Australia, Republic of Ireland and elsewhere to label colloquialism an organisation to which government has devolution power....
s".

List of executive agencies by department


Attorney General’s Office
Attorney General for England and Wales

Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is the chief legal adviser of the the Crown in England and Wales....
 

  • Treasury Solicitor's Department
    Treasury Solicitor's Department

    The Treasury Solicitor's Department is the largest in-house legal organisation in the United Kingdom's Government Legal Service.The Department is headed by the Treasury Solicitor....


Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform is a Departments of the United Kingdom Government. The department was created on 28 June 2007 on the disbanding of the Department of Trade and Industry ....
 (Department for)

  • Companies House
    Companies House

    Companies House is an Executive Agency of the Departments of the United Kingdom Government in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform....
  • Insolvency Service
    Insolvency Service

    The Insolvency Service is an executive agency of the United Kingdom's Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which:* administers and investigates the affairs of bankrupts, of companies and partnerships wound up by the court, and establishes why they became insolvent;...


Cabinet Office
Cabinet Office

The Cabinet Office is a United Kingdom government department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
 

  • Central Office of Information
    Central Office of Information

    The Central Office of Information is the UK government's marketing and communications agency. Its Chief Executive, currently Alan Bishop, reports to the Minister for the Cabinet Office....


Communities and Local Government
Department for Communities and Local Government

The Department for Communities and Local Government or "DCLG" is the United Kingdom Departments of the United Kingdom Government for communities and local government since May 2006....
 (Department for)

  • The Fire Service College
  • Ordnance Survey
    Ordnance Survey

    Ordnance Survey is an executive agency of the United Kingdom government. It is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, and one of the world's largest producers of maps....
  • Planning Inspectorate
    Planning Inspectorate

    The Planning Inspectorate for England and Wales is an executive agency of the Department for Communities and Local Government of the United Kingdom Government....
  • Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
    Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre

    The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre is a conference centre in the City of Westminster, London. It is located in the heart of the city, a minute's walk from the Palace of Westminster, seat of the United Kingdom's UK Parliament....


Culture, Media and Sport
Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is a department of the United Kingdom government, with responsibility for English culture and Sport in England in England, and some aspects of the media throughout the whole UK, for example broadcasting....
 (Department for)

  • Royal Parks Agency


Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)

The Ministry of Defence is the Departments of the United Kingdom Government responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
 (Ministry of)

  • British Forces Post Office
    British Forces Post Office

    The British Forces Post Office is an agency that provides a postal service to Military of the United Kingdom, separate from that provided by Royal Mail in the United Kingdom....
  • Defence Analytical Services Agency
    Defence Analytical Services Agency

    The Defence Analytical Services Agency . Created in 1992 from various statistics branches within the Ministry of Defence , DASA was an executive agency of the Ministry of Defence , and reported to the Minister of State ....
  • Defence Estates
    Defence Estates

    Defence Estates is an executive agency of the Ministry of Defence , in the United Kingdom, which is responsible for the built and rural estate....
  • Defence Medical, Education and Training Agency
  • Defence Equipment & Support
    Defence Equipment & Support

    Defence Equipment and Support is the name of the merged procurement and support organisation within the UK Ministry of Defence . It came into being on 2 April 2007, bringing together the MoD's Defence Procurement Agency and the Defence Logistics Organisation under the leadership of General Sir Kevin O'Donoghue as the first Chief of Defenc...
  • Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
  • Defence Storage and Distribution Agency
  • Defence Transport and Movements Agency
  • Defence Vetting Agency
    Defence Vetting Agency

    The Defence Vetting Agency is an executive agency of the HM Government responsible for vetting employees of the British Armed Forces, Ministry of Defence Her Majesty's Civil Service, defence contractors, and certain other Departments of the United Kingdom government and organisations....
  • Disposal Services Agency
  • Duke of York's Royal Military School
    Duke of York's Royal Military School

    The Duke of York?s Royal Military School was founded in 1803 by Prince Frederick Augustus, Duke of York and Albany, son of George III of the United Kingdom and Queen Charlotte and Commander-in-Chief of the British Army....
  • Met Office
    Met Office

    The Met Office , is the United Kingdom's national weather service, and a subsidiary of the Ministry of Defence . Part of the Met Office headquarters at Exeter in Devon is the Met Office College, which handles the training for internal personnel and many forecasters from around the world....
  • Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency
    Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency

    The Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency is an executive agency of the Ministry of Defence . The organisation was formed on 1 April 2004 by the amalgamation of the Ministry of Defence Police with the Ministry of Defence Guard Service , with the purpose of providing a coordinated approach to the provision of security of MoD property....
  • People, Pay and Pensions Agency
    People, Pay and Pensions Agency

    The People, Pay and Pensions Agency is an Agency of the UK Ministry of Defence. When the agency was formed in April 2006 it subsumed the Pay & Personnel Agency and now provides of all civilian personnel services to the MOD....
  • Queen Victoria School
    Queen Victoria School

    HM Queen Victoria School, opened in 1908, is Scotland's Ministry of Defence school for the sons and daughters of Scottish soldiers, sailors and airmen....
  • Royal Navy Supply and Transport Service
  • Service Children's Education
    Service Children's Education

    Service Children's Education is an executive agency of the HM Government responsible for the education of the children of British Armed Forces families and Ministry of Defence personnel serving outside of the United Kingdom....
  • Service Personnel and Veterans Agency
    Service Personnel and Veterans Agency

    The Service Personnel and Veterans Agency was officially launched on 2 April 2007 by the UK Ministry of Defence. SPVA aims to improve personnel, pensions, welfare and support services to members of the UK Armed Forces and veterans and their dependents....
  • UK Hydrographic Office
    United Kingdom Hydrographic Office

    The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office is an organisation within the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for providing navigational and other Hydrography information for national, civil and defence requirements....


Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the United Kingdom government department responsible for environmental quality protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom....
  (Department for)

  • Animal Health
    Animal Health

    Animal Health is the UK government's executive agency primarily responsible for ensuring that farmed animals in Great Britain are healthy, disease-free and well looked after....
  • Central Science Laboratory
    Central Science Laboratory

    The Central Science Laboratory is an executive agency of the UK government department the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs . It specialises in the sciences underpinning agriculture for sustainable Crop production, environmental management and Habitat conservation and in food safety and quality....
  • Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science
    Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science

    The Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science is an executive agency of the United Kingdom government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs....
  • Government Decontamination Service
    UK Government Decontamination Service

    The UK Government Decontamination Service is an organisation within the Her Majesty's Government that provides advice and guidance to help the United Kingdom resist and recover from any deliberate or accidental release of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear materials or from major accidental releases of hazardous materials ....
  • Food Standards Agency
    Food Standards Agency

    The Food Standards Agency is a non-ministerial government department of the Her Majesty's Government. It is responsible for protecting public health in relation to food throughout the United Kingdom and is led by an appointed board that is intended to act in the public interest....
  • Forestry Commission
    Forestry Commission

    The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....
  • Marine and Fisheries Agency
  • Pesticides Safety Directorate
    Pesticides Safety Directorate

    The Pesticides Safety Directorate ia an executive agency of the Health and Safety Executive. Up until the end of March 2008 it was an executive agency of Defra....
  • Rural Payments Agency
    Rural Payments Agency

    The Rural Payments Agency is an executive agency of the British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs . The RPA delivers payments to farmers and traders in excess of ?2 billion....
  • Veterinary Laboratories Agency
    Veterinary Laboratories Agency

    The Veterinary Laboratories Agency is an executive agency of the UK government department, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs....
  • Veterinary Medicines Directorate
    Veterinary Medicines Directorate

    The Veterinary Medicines Directorate is an Executive Agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs seeking to protect public health, animal health, the environment and promoting animal welfare by assuring the safety, quality and efficacy of veterinary medicines in the United Kingdom....


Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO, is the Departments of the United Kingdom Government responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs....
 

  • FCO Services
  • Wilton Park Conference Centre
    Wilton Park

    Wilton Park is an executive agencies of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It is academically independent and a non-profit-making organisation....


Health
Department of Health (United Kingdom)

The Department of Health is a Departments of the United Kingdom government but with responsibility for government policy for England alone on health, social care and the National Health Service ....
 (Department of)

  • Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
    Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is the UK government agency which is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe....
  • NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency
    NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency

    The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency is an executive agency of the Department of Health in the United Kingdom.The purchasing arm of the National Health Service in England, it has main offices in Chester and Reading, Berkshire....


Home Department (Home Office
Home Office

The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security and order. As such it is responsible for the police, United Kingdom Borders Agency and MI5....
)

  • Criminal Records Bureau
    Criminal Records Bureau

    The Criminal Records Bureau , established in March 2002, is an executive agency of the Home Office in the United Kingdom, which conducts criminal record checks on potential employees on behalf of organizations and recruiters throughout England and Wales....
  • Forensic Science Service
    Forensic Science Service

    The Forensic Science Service is a government-owned company in the United Kingdom which provides forensics services to the List of police forces in the United Kingdom and Politics of the United Kingdom agencies of England and Wales, as well as other countires....
  • Identity and Passport Service
    Identity and Passport Service

    The is an executive agency of the Home Office in the United Kingdom which became operational on 1 April 2006 after the passing of the British national identity card....
  • UK Border Agency
    UK Border Agency

    The UK Border Agency came into existence on 1 April 2008. Formed as a result of a Cabinet Office report, a decision was taken to merge the Border and Immigration Agency, UKvisas and the port of entry functions of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs into one new integrated border control body....


Innovation, Universities and Skills
Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills is a Departments of the United Kingdom Government created on 28 June 2007 to take over some of the functions of the disbanded departments of Department for Education and Skills and Department of Trade and Industry....
 (Department for)


  • National Weights and Measures Laboratory
    National Weights and Measures Laboratory

    The National Weights and Measures Laboratory is an executive agency of the Government of the United Kingdom that is responsible for ensuring that measurement within the United Kingdom is accurate, fair and legal....
  • UK Intellectual Property Office


Justice
Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)

The Ministry of Justice has been a department of the Her Majesty's Government since 2007. It was created on 9 May 2007 by merging the Department for Constitutional Affairs with parts of the Home Office responsible for criminal justice policy, sentencing policy, probation, prisons and prevention of re-offending in England and Wales....
 (Ministry of)

  • HM Courts Service
  • HM Land Registry
    HM Land Registry

    The Land Registry is a British Governmental organisation created in 1862. Land Registry is responsible for publicly recording interests in registered land in England and Wales and reports to the Ministry of Justice ....
  • HM Prison Service
  • The National Archives
  • Public Guardianship Office
    Public Guardianship Office

    The Public Guardianship Office is an executive agency of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Justice , which promotes and protects the private assets and financial affairs of people with a mental disability....
  • Tribunals Service
    Tribunals Service

    The Tribunals Service is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice in the United Kingdom.The Tribunals Service is responsible for:...


Northern Ireland Office
Northern Ireland Office

The Northern Ireland Office is a United Kingdom government department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, currently Shaun Woodward MP supported by Paul Goggins MP....
 

  • Compensation Agency
  • Forensic Science Agency Northern Ireland
  • Northern Ireland Prison Service
    Northern Ireland Prison Service

    The Northern Ireland Prison Service is an executive agency of the Northern Ireland Office established on 1 April 1995. Agency status was re-confirmed following a Quinquennial Review in 2000....
  • Youth Justice Agency


Transport
Department for Transport

In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the Departments of the United Kingdom Government responsible for the English transport network and transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved....
 (Department for)

  • Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
    Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

    The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency , is the organisation of Her Majesty's Government responsible for maintaining a database of drivers and a Vehicle register in Great Britain; its counterpart in Northern Ireland is the Driver & Vehicle Agency ....
  • Driving Standards Agency
    Driving Standards Agency

    The Driving Standards Agency is an executive agency of the United Kingdom Department for Transport and is part of the Safety, Service Delivery and Logistics group....
  • Government Car and Despatch Agency
    Government Car and Despatch Agency

    The Government Car and Despatch Agency is an executive agency of the Department for Transport, responsible for providing logistics services to the HM Government and wider public sector....
  • Highways Agency
    Highways Agency

    The Highways Agency is an executive agency, part of the Department for Transport in the United Kingdom. It has responsibility for managing the core road network in England....
  • Maritime and Coastguard Agency
    Maritime and Coastguard Agency

    The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is a United Kingdom executive agency working to prevent the loss of lives at sea and is responsible for implementing British and International maritime law and safety policy.This involves coordinating search and rescue at sea through Her Majesty's Coastguard , ensuring that ships meet international...
  • Vehicle and Operator Services Agency
    Vehicle and Operator Services Agency

    Vehicle and Operator Services Agency is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Transport of the Departments of the United Kingdom Government....
  • Vehicle Certification Agency
    Vehicle Certification Agency

    Vehicle Certification Agency is an executive agency of the United Kingdom Department for Transport and the UK?s type approval authority and a leading certification body....


Treasury
HM Treasury

HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy....
 (HM)

  • National Savings and Investments
    National Savings and Investments

    National Savings and Investments , formerly called the National Savings Bank, is a state-owned savings bank in the United Kingdom. It is an executive agency of HM Treasury....
  • Office for National Statistics
    Office for National Statistics

    The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
  • OGCBuying.Solutions
    OGCbuying.Solutions

    OGCbuying.Solutions is the United Kingdom government executive agency charged with procurement management. It is an executive agency of the Office of Government Commerce in HM Treasury....
  • Royal Mint
    Royal Mint

    The Royal Mint of the United Kingdom is the body permitted to manufacture, or mint , Coins of the pound sterling in the United Kingdom. The Mint originated over 1,100 years ago, but has functioned since 1975 as a Trading Fund, operating in much the same way as a government-owned company....
  • UK Debt Management Office
    UK Debt Management Office

    The UK Debt Management Office , was established on 1 April 1998. The DMO is responsible for carrying out the Government of the United Kingdom government debt management policy of minimising financing costs over the long term, taking account of risk, and managing the aggregate cash needs of the Exchequer in the most cost-effective way, in both...
  • Valuation Office Agency


Work and Pensions
Department for Work and Pensions

The Department for Work and Pensions is the largest government Ministry in the Government of the United Kingdom, created on June 8, 2001, from the merger of the employment part of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security....
 (Department for)

  • Child Support Agency
    Child Support Agency

    The Child Support Agency is a United Kingdom Government executive agency, part of the Department for Work and Pensions in Great Britain and the Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland, launched on April 5, 1993....
  • The Pension, Disability and Carers Service
    The Pension, Disability and Carers Service

    The Pension, Disability and Carers Service is an executive agency of the Department for Work and Pensions which was created in Apri 2008.The PDCS brings together two former separate executive agencies, The Pension Service and the Disability and Carers Service....
     incorporating The Pension Service and the Disability and Carers Service
  • JobCentre Plus
    Jobcentre Plus

    Jobcentre Plus is the government-funded employment agency facility and the social security office for working-age people in Great Britain. The agency was formed when the Employment Service, which operated Jobcentres and existed alongside separate social security benefits offices, merged with the Benefits Agency to become re-branded as Jobce...
  • Rent Service


Other countries


Several other countries experimented with the executive agency model, often with mixed results. In the United States, the Clinton administration imported the model, but with a modification of the name to "performance-based organizations." In Canada, executive agencies were adopted on a limited basis under the name "special operating agencies." Executive agencies were also established in Japan and Jamaica.

See also

  • Agencies of the European Union
  • Crown corporation
  • Departments of the United Kingdom Government
    Departments of the United Kingdom Government

    Her Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom contains a number of Minister s and Secretary of State . These members of the Cabinet are supported by civil servants in Ministerial Departments....
  • Non-departmental public body
    Non-departmental public body

    In the United Kingdom, a non-departmental public body is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, HM Treasury and Scottish public bodies to certain types of public bodies....
  • US Government independent agencies
    Independent agencies of the United States government

    Independent agencies of the United States Government are those Executive Government agency of the federal government of the United States that exist outside of the United States federal executive departments....


External references

  • 2002 Government report into the agencies model entitled "Better Government Services – Executive agencies in the 21st century" published by The Prime Minister's Office of Public Services Reform. Contains a list of agencies. (PDF
    Portable Document Format

    Portable Document Format is a file format created by Adobe Systems in 1993 for document exchange. PDF is used for representing two-dimensional documents in a manner independent of the application software, hardware, and operating system....
    )