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Ministerial Departments are led politically by a Government Minister, and cover matters that require direct political oversight. For most Departments, the Government Minister in question is known as a Secretary of State and is a member of the Cabinet. He or she is generally supported by a team of junior Ministers. The administrative management of the Department is led by a senior civil servant known as a Permanent Secretary.

Subordinate to these Ministerial Departments are executive agencies. An Executive Agency is a non-departmental public body that has a degree of to perform an operational function (cf. QUANGOs). They report to one or more specific Government Departments, which will set the funding and strategic policy for the Agency.

Non-ministerial departments generally cover matters for which direct political oversight is judged unnecessary or inappropriate. They are headed by senior civil servants. Some fulfil a regulatory or inspection function, and their status is therefore intended to protect them from political interference. Some are headed by Permanent Secretaries or Second Permanent Secretaries.

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Cabinet Office (CO)

Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI, formerly HMSO)

Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG)

Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA)

Scotland Office (SO)

Wales Office (WO)

Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)

Department for Education and Skills (DfES)

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

Department of Health (DH)

Department for International Development (DFID)

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)

Department for Transport (DfT)

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)

Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)

Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT)

Home Office (HO)

Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers (LSLO)

Ministry of Defence (MoD)

Northern Ireland Office (NIO)

Office of the Leader of the House of Commons

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The British Council

British Trade International *

Charity Commission

Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt (CRND) *

Crown Estate

Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)

Electoral Commission

Export Credits Guarantee Department ECGD

Food Standards Agency

Forestry Commission

Government Actuary's Department (GAD)

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)

HM Land Registry

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED)

Office for the Regulation of Electricity and Gas (NI) (OFREG) *

Office of Communications (Ofcom)

Office of the e-Envoy (OeE) *

Office of Fair Trading (OFT)

Office of Gas and Electricity Markets/Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (OFGEM)

Office of Government Commerce (OGC)

Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC)

Office for National Statistics (ONS)

Office of Science and Technology (OST)

Office of the International Rail Regulator (OIRR) *

Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR)

Postal Services Commission (PSC) *

Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) *

Royal Household

Serious Fraud Office (SFO)

Small Business Service (SBS) *

UK Trade and Investment *

Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat)

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The Stationery Office

Privy Council Office (PCO)

Better Regulation Commission *

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Prime Minister's Office (No. 10)

Her Majesty's Government (formal)

British Civil Service

Executive agency

Public bodies and task forces of the UK government

QuANGO

Politics of the United Kingdom

UK topics

Government operations