Ministry of Home Affairs
| Ministry of Home Affairs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Formed | 6 April 1868 |
| Central Office |
P.A. Wright House 9-17 West Mall Kingsbury, CENT |
| Employees | 5,320 |
| Annual budget | £31 million (2013-14) |
| Senior administration | |
| Minister of State | Peter Edgeworth MHA |
| Assistant Minister | Senator Nathanael Bowen |
| Permanent Secretary | Sir John Close |
| Directorates | |
|
Administrative Services Cultural Affairs Ecclesiastical Affairs Local Government Police and Emergency Services Rural Development | |
| Executive agencies | |
|
Local Government Commission National Archives National Lottery Passport Agency | |
The Ministry of Home Affairs is the one of the fifteen government ministries in the government of New Ingrea. The role of the Ministry is to oversee internal matters, such as policing, civil defence, local government and public administration. As such, the Ministry contains a number of varied roles and functions not seen in the other cabinet portfolios. The current Minister of State for Home Affairs is the Rt Hon. Peter Edgeworth MHA.
The Ministry was established by the government in 1868. The role and powers assigned the ministry have steadily been diminished as new ministries and agencies are created, leaving Home Affairs with a smaller but a still substantial ambit.
Responsibilities
Unlike many interior ministries, Home Affairs has a wider ambit outside the area of domestic security. The ministry has responsibility for cultural affairs, emergency services, local government, public records, and rural development. A number of crown statutory agencies are notionally attached the ministry, and have additional responsibility for census and statistics, elections, and lotteries.
When the ministry was established in 1868, it assumed the functions of ecclesiastical affairs, local government, mines, native affairs, and policing from other ministries. Over the years, the ministry also had responsibility for the broader portfolio functions including conservation, education, health, industry, labour, planning, and public works. Over time these roles have been removed to new portfolios, and this has meant that all subsequent domestic departments have effectively been created by taking responsibilities from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Senior administration
Ministers
The Ministry of Home Affairs is headed by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, who is supported by four Deputy Ministers and a Parliamentary Secretary, all of whom are supported a large body of civil servants assigned to them to manage the ministers office and ministry.
| Office | Name | Term | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minister of State for Home Affairs | The Rt Hon. Peter Edgeworth MHA | 2012-present | ||
| Deputy Minister for Administrative Services Assistant Minister for Home Affairs |
Senator Nathanael Bowen | 2012-present | ||
| Deputy Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs | The Lord Braddock | 2012-present | ||
| Deputy Minister for Local Government | Lucy Taskin MHA | 2012-present | ||
| Deputy Minister for Police and Emergency Services | Senator Zac Duncan | 2016-present | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of State for Home Affairs | Louis Swift MHA | 2016-present | ||
Permanent Secretary and other senior officials
| Office | Name |
|---|---|
| Permanent Secretary of State | Sir John Close |
| Permanent Under-Secretary of State Director-General for Administrative Services |
Ronald Goldstein |
| Permanent Under-Secretary of State Director-General for Local Government |
Eleanor Hopkins |
| Permanent Under-Secretary of State Director-General for Cultural Affairs |
Scott Towner |
| Permanent Under-Secretary of State Director-General for Ecclesiastical Affairs |
The Very Rev. Paul Lemon |
| Permanent Under-Secretary of State Director-General for Police and Emergency Services |
George Harvey |
| Permanent Under-Secretary of State Director-General for Rural Development |
Sophia Garnet |
| Chief Operations Officer Director-General for Corporate Services |
Margaret Thurman |
| Director of the Local Government Commission | Patricia Brier |
| Director of the National Archives | Lillian Joiner |
| Director of the National Lottery | Aaron Thomas |
| Director of the Passport Agency | Lucy Barrenger |
| Director-General of the National Security Intelligence Bureau | Sir Richard Boling |
Directorates and executive agencies
Directorates
The Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for six policy directorates:
Directorate of Administrative Services
One of the most significant directorates for the Civil Service as a whole, the directorate was established in 1988 to unify government operational spending under one directorate. Occasionally lampooned as a "directorate administering administrators" in the ilk of the satirical Ingerish sitcom Yes Minister, the directorate is nevertheless an important one. All government transport and storage, land and property services, purchasing and disposals, accommodation and catering, land valuation and VIP protective services is handled by the directorate, as is policy formulation in this same area. The directorate is also responsible for all government records and information management, and publishes the New Ingrea Gazette. The Deputy Minister for Administrative Services is Senator Nathanael Bowen.
Directorate of Local Government
Responsible for the management of local government in New Ingrea, the directorate provides strategic leadership for the various local authorities across New Ingrea. The directorate attempts to keep itself at arms length from the democratically elected county councils, but may intervene if a local authority is unable to resolve an issue or becomes unmanageable. An Associate Minister for County Affairs is usually appointed to oversee the directorate and manage the relationship between the central government and the local authorities. The Deputy Minister for Local Government is Lucy Taskin MHA.
Directorate of Cultural Affairs
Not to be confused with the Directorate of Cultural Heritage in the Ministry of Conservation and Land Management, which tends to our cultural history, the directorate manages initiatives aimed at improving cultural integration and developing a unique national culture of New Ingrea. The directorate also oversees Ngati Mōri development with policies of developing stronger indigenous communities through a number of programmes aimed at improving aboriginal health, education, and workforce participation.
Directorate of Ecclesiastical Affairs
The relationship between the state and the established religion in New Ingrea is maintained by this directorate. In accordance with the Constitution of New Ingrea, the Church of New Ingrea is recognised as the national church of the kingdom, and is therefore officially supported by the government. Most New Ingreans conform to the national church, with the majority becoming members of the denomination when they were christened as children. For those that do not wish to conform to the national church, there is specific provision in the Constitution for the toleration of those of dissenting religions and views, provided that they do not teach or act contrary to good morals or public order of the kingdom[1]. The Deputy Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs is The Earl Braddock.
Directorate of Police and Emergency Services
The oversight of all of New Ingrea's public safety bodies are managed as part of this directorate. All enjoy a degree of autonomy, being managed by the county councils or as agencies sui generis of the central government. Policing is split between the Royal New Ingrean Police and the counties, who manage issues of law and order across the country. The Royal New Ingrean Fire Service protects urban centres from fire and aims to educate people on the dangers of fire. The Royal New Ingrean Ambulance Service is responsible for the transport of the sick and injured to hospital. Finally, civil defence in New Ingrea is solely the responsibility of the local authorities. A major directorate and one of the most challenging to a junior minister, the Deputy Minister for Police and Emergency Services is Senator Zac Duncan.
Directorate of Rural Development
Charged with the protection, preservation and continued viability of traditional rural communities, the directorate oversees a number of initiatives to assist those working in the primary industry sector. The directorate provides funding to communities wishing to protect their natural and built heritage, while also providing support to those communities wishing to diversify economically. In addition, the directorate oversees a number of agencies that assist the sector recover from major setbacks such as drought, fire or flood. There is no deputy minister for this directorate.
Corporate Services Directorate
The Ministry also has a Corporate Services Directorate responsible for those 'back-end' activities that involve the delivery of enterprise-wide support services to all policy directorates and executive agencies. The aim of the directorate is to provide quality client service based on the principles of specialised knowledge, best practices, and superior technology solutions, to serve the internal customer base of the Ministry, and certain circumstances some or all of the Ministry's business partners. The directorate is divided into five 'branches', which provide specific support for a particular area of expertise, these being Estates Management, Finance, Information Technology, Personnel Services, and Procurement. The Corporate Services Directorate is headed by a Chief Operations Officer, with the rank of Permanent Under-Secretary of State, who in turn reports personally to the Permanent Secretary of State and the Minister.
Executive agencies
There are a number of additional agencies broadly within the responsibility of the Ministry.
Local Government Commission
Created by the Local Government Act[2] of 1947, the commission has been established to formulate policy relating to local government in New Ingrea. From 1948, the commission has been responsible for overseeing the various counties, municipalities, and parishes that exist across the country. The commission is also tasked in ensuring due diligence and good governance is being observed by all local authorities in the country.
National Archives
The repository of all government records, the National Archives was established in 1840, making it the oldest surviving executive agency in New Ingrea. The National Archives keeps all of New Ingrea's government records that have been created since the country was founded in 1836, including cabinet papers, citizenship records, court records, departmental memos, probate records, military service records, and historical statistical information, including past census records. The agency presently employs 92 people, and has it's headquarters on King's Square, with an additional secure storage facility near the town of Yarrowleigh.
National Lottery
The sole lottery in New Ingrea, the National Lottery was created by the National Lottery Act[3] in 1966. The agency runs the weekly lotto draw, which is televised on ITN every Tuesday evening. All profits raised from the agency are used to fund many of New Ingrea's cultural heritage, such as the various national museums, zoological, and botanic gardens.
Passport Agency
The body responsible for all matters relating to the issue, renewal and cancellation of passports to New Ingrea subjects. The agency was established in 1992 to oversee the issue of passports, which all New Ingreans need in order to travel abroad.
Agencies sui generis
National Security Intelligence Bureau
Responsible for domestic security and counter-intelligence operations, the National Security Intelligence Bureau (or NSIB) is considered to be an agency sui generis of the Ministry.
References and notes
- ↑ Constitution of New Ingrea (1982). §6(3)
- ↑ Local Government Act (Public Act No. 61 of 1947).
- ↑ National Lottery Act (Public Act No. 44 of 1966).
Other links
Headquarters: P. A. Wright House | ||
| Ministers | Minister of State for Home Affairs (Peter Edgeworth) · Deputy Minister for Administrative Services (Senator Nathanael Bowen) · Deputy Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs (John Farmer MHA) · Deputy Minister for Local Government (Lucy Taskin MHA) · Deputy Minister for Police and Emergency Services (Senator Ethan Adamson) · Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of State for Home Affairs (Jane Donaldson MHA) |  |
| Directorates | Directorate of Administrative Services · Directorate of Cultural Affairs · Directorate of Ecclesiastical Affairs · Directorate of Local Government · Directorate of Police and Emergency Services · Directorate of Rural Development | |
| Executive agencies | ||