Executive agency

An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or Northern Ireland Executive. Executive agencies are "machinery of government" devices distinct both from non-ministerial government departments and non-departmental public bodies (or "quangos"), each of which enjoy legal and constitutional separation from ministerial control. The model has been applied in several other countries.

Size and scope

Agencies include well-known organisations such as His Majesty's Prison Service and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. The annual budget for each agency, allocated by HM Treasury, ranges from a few million pounds for the smallest agencies to £700m for the Court Service. Virtually all government departments have at least one agency.

Issues and reports

The initial success or otherwise of executive agencies was examined in the Sir Angus Fraser's Fraser Report of 1991. Its main goal was to identify what good practices had emerged from the new model and spread them to other agencies and departments. The report also recommended further powers be devolved from ministers to chief executives.

A series of reports and white papers examining governmental delivery were published throughout the 1990s, under both Conservative and Labour governments. During these the agency model became the standard model for delivering public services in the United Kingdom. By 1997, 76% of civil servants were employed by an agency. The new Labour government in its first such report – the 1998 Next Steps Report – endorsed the model introduced by its predecessor. A later review (in 2002, linked below) made two central conclusions (their emphasis):

"The agency model has been a success. Since 1988 agencies have transformed the landscape of government and the responsive and effectiveness of services delivered by Government."

"Some agencies have, however, become disconnected from their departments ... The gulf between policy and delivery is considered by most to have widened."

The latter point is usually made more forcefully by Government critics, describing agencies as "unaccountable quangos".

List by department

Attorney General's Office

Non-ministerial department

• Crown Prosecution Service
• Government Legal Department
• Serious Fraud Office

Other

• HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate

Cabinet Office

Ministerial department

• Office of the Leader of the House of Commons
• Office of the Leader of the House of Lords

Executive agency

• Crown Commercial Service

Executive non-departmental public body

• Civil Service Commission

Advisory non-departmental public body

• Advisory Committee on Business Appointments
• Boundary Commission for England
• Boundary Commission for Wales
• Committee on Standards in Public Life
• House of Lords Appointments Commission
• Security Vetting Appeals Panel
• Senior Salaries Review Body
• Social Mobility Commission

Other

• Commissioner for Public Appointments
• Government Estates Management
• Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists
• Privy Council Office

Civil Service

• Civil Service

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

Non-ministerial department

• Competition and Markets Authority
• HM Land Registry
• Ordnance Survey

Executive agency

• Companies House
• Insolvency Service
• Intellectual Property Office
• Met Office
• UK Space Agency

Executive non-departmental public body

• Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
• British Hallmarking Council
• Civil Nuclear Police Authority
• Coal Authority
• Committee on Climate Change
• Competition Service
• Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
• UK Atomic Energy Authority
• UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), overseeing:
  • Arts and Humanities Research Council
  • Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
  • Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
  • Economic and Social Research Council
  • Innovate UK
  • Medical Research Council
  • Natural Environment Research Council
  • Research England
  • Science and Technology Facilities Council

Advisory non-departmental public body

• Committee on Fuel Poverty
• Committee on Radioactive Waste Management
• Council for Science and Technology
• Industrial Development Advisory Board
• Insolvency Rules Committee
• Land Registration Rule Committee
• Low Pay Commission
• Nuclear Liabilities Financing Assurance Board
• Regulatory Policy Committee

Tribunal non-departmental public body

• Central Arbitration Committee
• Competition Appeal Tribunal
• Copyright Tribunal
• Insolvency Practitioners Tribunal

Other

• British Business Bank
• Certification Officer
• Government Office for Science
• Groceries Code Adjudicator
• Independent Complaints Reviewer
• Office of Manpower Economics
• Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies
• Oil and Gas Authority

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Executive agency

• Planning Inspectorate
• Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre

Executive non-departmental public body

• Ebbsfleet Development Corporation
• Homes and Communities Agency
• Housing Ombudsman
• Leasehold Advisory Service
• Valuation Tribunal Service

Advisory non-departmental public body

• Building Regulations Advisory Committee

Tribunal non-departmental public body

• Valuation Tribunal for England

Public corporation

• Architects Registration Board

Other

• Local Government Ombudsman

Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport

Non-ministerial department

• The National Archives
• Charity Commission

Executive agency

• Building Digital UK
• Royal Parks

Executive non-departmental public body

• Arts Council England
• Big Lottery Fund
• British Film Institute
• British Library
• British Museum
• English Institute of Sport
• Gambling Commission
• Geffrye Museum
• Historic England
• Horniman Public Museum and Public Park Trust
• Horserace Betting Levy Board
• Imperial War Museum
• Information Commissioner's Office
• National Gallery
• National Heritage Memorial Fund
• National Lottery Heritage Fund (administered by the NHMF)
• National Museums Liverpool
• National Portrait Gallery
• Natural History Museum
• Royal Armouries Museum
• Royal Museums Greenwich
• Science Museum Group
• Sir John Soane's Museum
• Sport England
• Sports Grounds Safety Authority
• Tate
• UK Anti-Doping
• UK Sport
• Victoria and Albert Museum
• VisitBritain
• VisitEngland
• Wallace Collection

Advisory non-departmental public body

• The Advisory Council on National Records and Archives
• The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest
• The Theatres Trust
• Treasure Valuation Committee

Public corporation

• BBC
• Channel 4
• Historic Royal Palaces
• Ofcom
• S4C Authority

Department for Education

Non-ministerial department

• Ofqual
• Ofsted

Executive agency

• Education and Skills Funding Agency
• Teaching Regulation Agency
• Standards and Testing Agency

Executive non-departmental public body

• Construction Industry Training Board
• Engineering Construction Industry Training Board
• LocatED
• Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education
• Office for Students
• Office of the Children's Commissioner
• Social Work England
• Student Loans Company

Advisory non-departmental public body

• School Teachers' Review Body
• Social Mobility Commission

Other

• Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel
• Independent Review Mechanism
• Office of the Schools Adjudicator

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

Non-ministerial department

• Forestry Commission
  • Forestry England
  • Forest Research
• The Water Services Regulation Authority

Executive agency

• Animal and Plant Health Agency
• Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science
• Rural Payments Agency
• Veterinary Medicines Directorate

Executive non-departmental public body

• Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board
• Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
• Consumer Council for Water
• Environment Agency
• Joint Nature Conservation Committee
• Marine Management Organisation
• National Forest Company
• Natural England
• Sea Fish Industry Authority

Advisory non-departmental public body

• Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment
• Independent Agricultural Appeals Panel
• Science Advisory Council
• Veterinary Products Committee

Tribunal non-departmental public body

• Plant Varieties and Seeds Tribunal

Other

• Broads Authority
• Covent Garden Market Authority
• Dartmoor National Park Authority
• Drinking Water Inspectorate
• Exmoor National Park Authority
• Lake District National Park Authority
• New Forest National Park Authority
• North York Moors National Park Authority
• Northumberland National Park Authority
• Peak District National Park Authority
• South Downs National Park Authority
• UK Co-ordinating Body (Common Agricultural Policy)
• Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority

Department for Transport

Non-ministerial department

• Office of Rail and Road

Executive agency

• Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
• Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency
• Maritime and Coastguard Agency
• Vehicle Certification Agency

Executive non-departmental public body

• British Transport Police Authority
• Directly Operated Railways Limited
• High Speed Two (HS2) Limited
• Northern Lighthouse Board
• Transport Focus
• Trinity House

Advisory non-departmental public body

• Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee

Tribunal non-departmental public body

• Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain

Public corporation

• Civil Aviation Authority
• London and Continental Railways Ltd

Other

• National Highways
• Network Rail
• Marine Accident Investigation Branch
• Rail Accident Investigation Branch
• Air Accidents Investigation Branch

Department for Work and Pensions

Executive non-departmental public body

• Disabled People's Employment Corporation
• Health and Safety Executive
• National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) Corporation
• The Pensions Advisory Service
• The Pensions Regulator

Advisory non-departmental public body

• Industrial Injuries Advisory Council
• Social Mobility Commission
• Social Security Advisory Committee

Tribunal non-departmental public body

• Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman
• Pensions Ombudsman

Public corporation

• Office for Nuclear Regulation
• Pension Protection Fund

Other

• Independent Case Examiner

Department of Health

Executive agency

• Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
• UK Health Security Agency

Executive non-departmental public body

• Care Quality Commission
• Health Education England
• Health Research Authority
• Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority
• Human Tissue Authority
• NHS Blood and Transplant
• NHS Business Services Authority
• NHS Digital
• NHS England
• NHS Litigation Authority (operating as NHS Resolution)
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

Advisory non-departmental public body

• Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards
• British Pharmacopoeia Commission
• Commission on Human Medicines
• Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment
• Independent Reconfiguration Panel
• NHS Pay Review Body
• Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration

Other

• Accelerated Access Review
• Morecambe Bay Investigation
• NHS Improvement
• National Data Guardian for Health and Social Care
• National Information Board
• Porton Biopharma Limited

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Executive agency

• FCO Services
• Wilton Park

Executive non-departmental public body

• British Council
• Great Britain–China Centre
• Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission
• Westminster Foundation for Democracy

Public corporation

• BBC World Service

Other

• Chevening Scholarship Programme
• Government Communications Headquarters
• Secret Intelligence Service

HM Treasury

Non-ministerial department

• National Savings and Investments (NS&I)

Executive agency

• Government Internal Audit Agency
• Debt Management Office

Executive non-departmental public body

• Office for Budget Responsibility

Advisory non-departmental public body

• Royal Mint Advisory Committee

Other

• The Crown Estate
• Financial Conduct Authority
• National Infrastructure Commission
• Payment Systems Regulator
• Royal Mint
• UK Financial Investments
• UK Government Investments

Home Office

Executive non-departmental public body

• Disclosure and Barring Service
• Gangmasters Licensing Authority
• Independent Police Complaints Commission
• Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner
• Security Industry Authority

Advisory non-departmental public body

• Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
• Animals in Science Committee
• Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group
• Migration Advisory Committee
• Police Advisory Board for England and Wales
• Police Remuneration Review Body
• Technical Advisory Board

Tribunal non-departmental public body

• Investigatory Powers Tribunal
• Office of Surveillance Commissioners
• Police Discipline Appeals Tribunal

Independent monitoring body

• Independent Anti-slavery Commissioner

Other

• Biometrics Commissioner
• Forensic Science Regulator
• His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services
• Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration
• Independent Family Returns Panel
• Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation
• Intelligence Services Commissioner
• Interception of Communications Commissioner
• National Counter Terrorism Security Office
• National Crime Agency Remuneration Review Body
• The Security Service
• Surveillance Camera Commissioner

Ministry of Defence

Executive agency

• Defence Electronics and Components Agency
• Defence Equipment and Support
• Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
• UK Hydrographic Office
• Submarine Delivery Agency

Executive non-departmental public body

• Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust
• National Army Museum
• National Museum of the Royal Navy
• Royal Air Force Museum
• Single Source Regulations Office

Advisory non-departmental public body

• Advisory Committee on Conscientious Objectors
• Armed Forces' Pay Review Body
• Defence Nuclear Safety Committee
• Independent Medical Expert Group
• National Employer Advisory Board
• Nuclear Research Advisory Council
• Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal Weapons
• Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees

Public corporation

• The Oil and Pipelines Agency

Ad-hoc advisory group

• Central Advisory Committee on Compensation

Other

• Advisory Group on Military Medicine
• Defence Academy of the United Kingdom
• Defence Sixth Form College
• Defence and Security Media Advisory Committee
• Fleet Air Arm Museum
• Reserve Forces and Cadets Association
• Royal Marines Museum
• Royal Navy Submarine Museum
• Service Complaints Ombudsman
• Service Prosecuting Authority
• United Kingdom Reserve Forces Association
• United Kingdom Special Forces Association

Ministry of Justice

Executive agency

• Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
• HM Courts & Tribunals Service
• HM Prison Service
• Legal Aid Agency
• Office of the Public Guardian

Executive non-departmental public body

• Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS)
• Criminal Cases Review Commission
• Judicial Appointments Commission
• Legal Services Board
• Parole Board for England and Wales
• Youth Justice Board

Advisory non-departmental public body

• Advisory Committees on Justices of the Peace
• Civil Justice Council
• Civil Procedure Rule Committee
• Criminal Procedure Rule Committee
• Family Justice Council
• Family Procedure Rule Committee
• Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody
• Law Commission
• Prison Service Pay Review Body
• Sentencing Council
• Tribunal Procedure Committee

Other

• Academy for Social Justice
• HM Inspectorate of Prisons
• HM Inspectorate of Probation
• Independent Monitoring Boards
• Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman
• Judicial Office
• Legal Ombudsman
• Official Solicitor and Public Trustee
• Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
• Victims' Commissioner
• Crown Office

Northern Ireland Office

Executive non-departmental public body

• Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
• Parades Commission for Northern Ireland

Advisory non-departmental public body

• Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland

Scotland Office

Advisory non-departmental public body

• Boundary Commission for Scotland

UK Export Finance

Advisory non-departmental public body

• Export Guarantees Advisory Council

Non ministerial departments

Not already listed above:

• Charity Commission for England and Wales
• Food Standards Agency
  • Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs
  • Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes
  • Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food
  • Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment
  • Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment
• General Advisory Committee on Science

• Government Actuary's Department
• HM Revenue and Customs
  • Valuation Office Agency
  • Adjudicator's Office
• National Crime Agency
• Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
• UK Statistics Authority
  • Office for National Statistics

Other countries

Several other countries have an executive agency model.

In the United States, the Clinton administration imported the model under the name "performance-based organizations."

In Canada, executive agencies were adopted on a limited basis under the name "special operating agencies." One example is the Translation Bureau under Public Services and Procurement Canada.

Executive agencies were also established in Australia, Jamaica, Japan and Tanzania.

See also

• Trading fund
• Agency of the European Union
• Government-owned corporation
• Departments of the United Kingdom Government
• Non-departmental public body
• Independent agencies of the United States government
• United States federal executive departments

External links

• Economic Research Council online database of all UK Quangos 1998-2006, archived in 2007
• 2002 Government report into the agencies model entitled "Better Government Services – Executive agencies in the 21st century" published by The Prime Minister's Office of Public Services Reform. Contains a list of agencies. (PDF)
• Civil Service (archived in 2008)