Department for Communities explained

Agency Name:Department for Communities
Type:Department
Formed:May 2016
Preceding1:Department for Social Development
Preceding2:Department for Employment and Learning
Preceding3:Department of the Environment
Preceding4:Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
Jurisdiction:Northern Ireland
Headquarters:Lighthouse Building, 1 Cromac Place, Gasworks Business Park, Ormeau Road, Belfast, BT7 2JB
Employees:7,452 (September 2011)[1]
Budget:£505.4 million (current) & £161.6 million (capital) for 2011–12[2]
Minister1 Name:Gordon Lyons
Chief1 Name:Colum Boyle[3]
Chief1 Position:Permanent Secretary
Website:www.communities-ni.gov.uk

The Department for Communities (DfC, Irish: An Roinn Pobal; Ulster Scots: Depairtment fur Commonities[4]) is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister for Communities. The department was previously created in May 2016 following the Fresh Start Agreement and the dissolution of several departments, such as the Department for Social Development, the Department of the Environment, the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and the Department for Employment and Learning from which several functions have amalgamated.

Aim

DfC's overall aim is "tackling disadvantage and building sustainable communities".[5]

Responsibilities

The department's main responsibilities are as follows:

Northern Ireland has parity with Great Britain in three areas:

Policy in these areas is technically devolved but, in practice, follows policy set by Parliament to provide consistency across the United Kingdom.[6]

The department is also responsible for the following public bodies:

It also oversees the Office of the Social Fund Commissioner.

Counterpart departments in the UK and Republic of Ireland

DfC's main counterparts in the United Kingdom Government are:

In the Irish Government, its main counterparts are:

History

Housing policy in Northern Ireland was originally a responsibility of local government and the Ministry of Home Affairs, which (similarly to the Home Office) retained responsibility for policy areas not delegated to other ministries.

A separate Ministry of Health and Local Government was established in June 1944, as part of the welfare state. In January 1965, that department was divided between the Ministry of Development (including housing policy) and the Ministry of Health and Social Services (including social security).

The two ministries were, respectively, renamed as the Department of the Environment and Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) under direct rule, introduced in March 1972. Health and social services and environment ministries were also included in the Northern Ireland Executive briefly established in 1974.

DfC mainly combined housing and social security policy from those departments.The initials DHSS are still used locally to describe benefits and benefit claimants.

Following a referendum on the Belfast Agreement on 23 May 1998 and the granting of royal assent to the Northern Ireland Act 1998 on 19 November 1998, a Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland Executive were established by the United Kingdom Government under Prime Minister Tony Blair. The process was known as devolution and was set up to return devolved legislative powers to Northern Ireland.

DfC (then DSD) was one of five new devolved Northern Ireland departments created in December 1999 by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and The Departments (Northern Ireland) Order 1999.

A devolved minister first took office on 2 December 1999. Devolution was suspended for four periods, during which the department came under the responsibility of direct rule ministers from the Northern Ireland Office:

Since 8 May 2007, devolution has operated without interruption, however it was not operating in practice from 2017 to 2020.

Ministers for Communities

MinisterImagePartyStartEnd
Office established as Minister of Social Development
    Nigel Dodds 29 November 1999 11 February 2000
Office suspended
    Nigel Dodds30 May 2000 26 July 2000
    Maurice Morrow27 July 2000 18 October 2001[22]
    Nigel Dodds 25 October 2001 11 October 2002
Office suspended
   Margaret Ritchie14 May 2007 23 May 2010
   Alex Attwood24 May 20104 May 2011
    Nelson McCausland 14 May 2011 23 September 2014
    Mervyn Storey 24 September 2014 12 January 2016[23]
    Lord Morrow13 January 201630 March 2016
Office renamed Minister of Communities
   Paul Givan 25 May 2016 2 March 2017
Office suspended
   Deirdre Hargey 11 January 202014 June 2020
   Carál Ní Chuilín 15 June 202015 December 2020
   Deirdre HargeySinn Féin16 December 202027 October 2022
Office suspended
    Gordon Lyons3 February 2024Incumbent

Direct rule ministers

During the periods of suspension, the following ministers of the Northern Ireland Office were responsible for the department:

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Northern Ireland Quarterly Employment Survey Historical Data . Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment . 28 December 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120316161140/http://www.detini.gov.uk/sep_11_table_5.14.xls . 16 March 2012 .
  2. Web site: Budget 2011–15 . Department of Finance and Personnel . 28 December 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111213120114/http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/revised_budget_-_website_version.pdf . 13 December 2011 .
  3. Web site: DfC Permanent Secretary. 9 May 2024 .
  4. Web site: Department for Communities Corporate Identity Guide . 8 June 2021.
  5. Northern Ireland Budget 2011–15, page 99
  6. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/47/part/VIII/crossheading/social-security-child-support-and-pensions Northern Ireland Act 1998, Part VIII, Social security, child support and pensions
  7. Web site: About . DWP . 20 January 2009 . 24 January 2011.
  8. Web site: Communities and Local Government: About us . Communities.gov.uk . 24 January 2011.
  9. Web site: Big Society . Cabinet Office . 24 January 2011.
  10. Web site: About us . DCMS . 24 January 2011.
  11. Web site: Department of Social Protection: Overview . Welfare.ie . 24 January 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110203075110/http://www.welfare.ie/EN/AboutUs/Pages/dsfa_overview.aspx . 3 February 2011 .
  12. Web site: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Who We Are . Housing.ie . 15 November 2020.
  13. Web site: Department of Justice and Equality: Other Regulatory Functions . Justice.ie . 24 January 2011.
  14. Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Commencement) Order 2000
  15. Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Restoration of Devolved Government) Order 2000
  16. Article 1, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Suspension of Devolved Government) Order 2001
  17. Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Restoration of Devolved Government) Order 2001
  18. Article 1, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Suspension of Devolved Government) (No.2) Order 2001
  19. Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Restoration of Devolved Government) (No.2) Order 2001
  20. Article 1, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Suspension of Devolved Government) Order 2002
  21. Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Restoration of Devolved Government) Order 2007
  22. Office suspended for 24 hours on 11 August 2001 and 22 September 2001
  23. Resigned on 10 September 2015, re-entered office on 16 Sept. till 17 Sept., then on 23 Sept.-24 Sept, then 28 Sept.-29 Sept., then 30 Sept.-1 Oct. 2015. Following 20 October he permanently occupies the office

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