Executive agency

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Executive agency
Government of New Ingerland
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Government entities of New Ingerland

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An executive agency is a type of government entity that is part of the New Ingerland Civil Service, but is treated separately for management and budgetary purposes in order to carry out some part of the executive functions of the Government of New Ingerland. As of June 2013, there are just over 50 executive agencies operating in New Ingerland.

History

The existence of executive agencies dates back to the reforms made during the long premiership of Jonathan Braddock. Braddock recognised that the practice of separating some functions of government away from their parent department, whilst still part of the larger Civil Service held particular merit in the area of regulation and some service delivery. Executive agencies were therefore born in 1963 with the passage of the Machinery of Government Act[1]. The act empowered the King-in-Council to establish executive agencies for the "better governing practice in New Ingerland".

Some early agencies created, or re-established, included the Board of Studies, HM Prisons Service, and the Royal National Parks Service. The Act amended a number of earlier acts to reconstitute previously established statutory bodies as executive agencies.

Function and powers

Executive agencies are considered to be part of the New Ingerland Civil Service and are therefore under a degree of ministerial control. However, devices distinct from other government entities such as crown corporations and crown statutory agencies, each of which enjoy a real autonomy from ministerial control, and for the most part, report directly to the Parliament of New Ingerland. The basis for forming executive agencies is split between Parliament and the Executive. So, whilst the Parliament will pass an Act establishing a particular office (e.g. Director of the Royal National Parks Service), all executive agencies that these officers administer are established and dissolved by way of an Order-in-Council

The exact nature of each executive agency is largely dependent on the duties that it is expected to carry out. Many of the agencies in existence today, such as the Civil Aviation Authority or the Fish and Game Conservation Council, are regulating bodies that issues licences or control access to a particular service or resource. Others, such as the Border and Immigration Agency or the Environment Agency, are responsible for carrying out a particular function of government that nevertheless requires a degree of independence from it.

See also

References and notes

  1. Machinery of Government Act (Public Act No. 72 of 1963).

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