# Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom

The Government of the United Kingdom is divided into departments that each have responsibility, according to the government, for putting government policy into practice. There are currently 24 ministerial departments, 20 non-ministerial departments, and 422 agencies and other public bodies, for a total of 465 departments.

## Ministerial departments

Ministerial departments are generally the most high-profile government departments and differ from the other two types of government departments in that they include ministers. A list of all ministerial departments is shown below.
| Ministerial department | Minister responsible | Civil servant responsible | Ref. |
| Attorney General's Office | The Rt Hon The Lord Hermer PC KC Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland | Douglas Wilson OBE Director-General | |
| Cabinet Office | The Rt Hon Pat McFadden MP Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Sir Chris Wormald KCB Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service Catherine Little CB Permanent Secretary | |
| Department for Business and Trade | The Rt Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP Secretary of State for Business and Trade and President of the Board of Trade | Gareth Davies CB Permanent Secretary | |
| Department for Culture, Media and Sport | The Rt Hon Lisa Nandy MP Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport | Susannah Storey Permanent Secretary | |
| Department for Education | The Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson MP Secretary of State for Education | Susan Acland-Hood Permanent Secretary | |
| Department for Energy Security and Net Zero | The Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero | Jeremy Pockington CB Permanent Secretary |
| Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | The Rt Hon Steve Reed OBE MP Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Dame Tamara Finkelstein DCB Permanent Secretary | |
| Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | The Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology | Sarah Munby Permanent Secretary |
| Department for Transport | The Rt Hon Heidi Alexander MP Secretary of State for Transport | Dame Bernadette Kelly DCB Permanent Secretary | |
| Department for Work and Pensions | The Rt Hon Liz Kendall MP Secretary of State for Work and Pensions | Sir Peter Schofield KCB Permanent Secretary | |
| Department of Health and Social Care | The Rt Hon Wes Streeting MP Secretary of State for Health and Social Care | Prof Sir Chris Whitty KCB FRS Permanent Secretary and Chief Medical Officer for England | |
| Export Credits Guarantee Department (trading as UK Export Finance) | The Rt Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP Secretary of State for Business and Trade and President of the Board of Trade | Tim Reid Chief Executive | |
| Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office | The Rt Hon David Lammy MP Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs | Sir Philip Barton KCMG OBE Permanent Secretary | |
| HM Treasury | The Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP Chancellor of the Exchequer and Second Lord of the Treasury | James Bowler CB Permanent Secretary | |
| Home Office | The Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP Secretary of State for the Home Department | Sir Matthew Rycroft KCMG CBE Permanent Secretary | |
| Ministry of Defence | The Rt Hon John Healey MP Secretary of State for Defence | David Williams CB Permanent Secretary | |
| Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | The Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and Deputy Prime Minister | Sarah Healey CB CVO Permanent Secretary | |
| Ministry of Justice | The Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood KC MP Secretary of State for Justice and Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain | Dame Antonia Romeo DCB Permanent Secretary and Clerk of the Crown in Chancery | |
| Northern Ireland Office | The Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | Julie Harrison Permanent Secretary | |
| Office of the Advocate General for Scotland | The Rt Hon The Baroness Smith of Cluny KC Advocate General for Scotland | Neil Taylor Director and Solicitor to the Advocate General | |
| Office of the Leader of the House of Commons | The Rt Hon Lucy Powell MP Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council | N/A | |
| Office of the Leader of the House of Lords | The Rt Hon The Baroness Smith of Basildon PC Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal | N/A | |
| Scotland Office | The Rt Hon Ian Murray MP Secretary of State for Scotland | Laurence Rockey Director | [46] [47] |
| Wales Office | The Rt Hon Jo Stevens MP Secretary of State for Wales | Glynne Jones CBE Director | |

## Non-ministerial departments

Non-ministerial departments are headed by civil servants and usually have a regulatory or inspection function. A list of all non-ministerial departments is shown below.
* Non-ministerial department
* Charity Commission for England and Wales
* Competition and Markets Authority
* Crown Prosecution Service
* Food Standards Agency
* Forestry Commission
* Government Actuary's Department
* Government Legal Department
* HM Land Registry
* HM Revenue & Customs
* National Savings and Investments
* The National Archives
* National Crime Agency
* Office of Rail and Road
* Office of Gas and Electricity Markets
* Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation
* Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills
* Serious Fraud Office
* Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
* UK Statistics Authority
* Water Services Regulation Authority

## Agencies and other public bodies

Government departments in this third and final category can generally be split into five types:
* Executive agencies, which usually provide government services rather than decide policy
* Executive non-departmental public bodies, which do work for the government in specific areas
* Advisory non-departmental public bodies, which provide independent and expert advice to ministers
* Tribunal non-departmental public bodies, which are part of the justice system and have jurisdiction over a specific area of the law
* Independent monitoring boards, which are responsible for the running of prisons and the treatment of prisoners