A list of Northern Ireland government departments, their agencies and their ministers and related organisations.The devolved government of Northern Ireland (the Northern Ireland Executive) is responsible for most public services in the region but some services are also provided by the United Kingdom Government and cross-border bodies under the North/South Ministerial Council. Public bodies take several forms with some reporting directly to their department (agencies) and others operating having more independence as they advise government (non-departmental public bodies).[1]
Below the regional tier of public bodies, public services are also provided by 11 local authorities, one educational authority and five health and social care trusts. Others are accountable directly to the Northern Ireland Assembly or to external organisations, like the European Union.
See also: Reform of local government in Northern Ireland.
The following departments of the United Kingdom government and UK-wide public bodies operate in Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland Office (NIO)
The NIO is the UK department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs and is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who represents Northern Ireland interests at Cabinet level. It is responsible for the following public bodies:
Executive agencies (by department)
Non-departmental public bodies (outside NIO, by department)
Non-ministerial departments (answerable to Parliament)
Other regulators
Defence and security services
Public bodies operating from Great Britain
Several public bodies have a UK-wide remit for reserved and excepted matters in Northern Ireland but operate from Great Britain.
The North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) consists of Northern Ireland Executive and Irish Government ministers, and is designed to encourage co-operation between the two jurisdictions on Ireland. The similar British-Irish Council, which consists of ministers from all countries of the British Isles (also known as Britain and Ireland), has no related public bodies.
NSMC cross-border bodies: