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The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the United Kingdom Home Office and is responsible for internal affairs in England and Wales, and for immigration and citizenship for the whole United Kingdom (including Scotland and Northern Ireland). In certain other countries, such as Australia, India and Singapore, the term Home Secretary refers to the Permanent Secretary, or the senior civil servant, at the Home Ministry of that country. The remit of these ministries generally includes policing, national security, immigration, the criminal justice system, the prison service, and matters of citizenship.
Responsibilities The Home Secretary is currently responsible for: Constitutional affairs The Home Secretary has no responsibility for the Courts of England and Wales, which is managed by Her Majesty's Courts Service on behalf of the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs. Unlike many other governments, the British government has separate departments for the issues dealt with by the Home Office and for legal, judicial and civil rights issues; these are dealt with by the Department of Constitutional Affairs. Scotland and Northern Ireland Separate arrangements have always existed for Scotland and Northern Ireland which distinct legal systems, with internal affairs being, respectively, the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament and (when not suspended) the Northern Ireland Assembly. As of July 2006, Northern Ireland's internal affairs are the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. The equivalent minister in Scotland is the Minister for Justice, whose remit also includes the Courts of Scotland. Social issues The Home Office has also previously dealt with some social issues, including race equality, community cohesion, and policy on charities and the voluntary sector. social exclusion, equality and race relations. Responsibility for race equality and community cohesion is held since May 5th 2006 by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. From the same date, responsibility for charities and the voluntary sector has been held by the Cabinet Office. Development of other government departments Because the Home Office was initially the primary government department with responsibility for domestic affairs, all subsequent domestic departments have effectively been created by taking responsibilities from the Home Office. Until 2001 this left a variety of miscellaneous tasks that sat apart from the law and order functions of the department, such as British Summer Time or wild birds in Scotland. However, on the appointment of David Blunkett as Home Secretary, these functions - and others such as responsibility for the Fire Brigade - have been reallocated to other departments to give the position a focus solely on law and order. Home Secretaries since 1782 Related pages Related postings in other countries: | ||||||||
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