New Ingrean Civil Service
New Ingrean Civil Service |
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This article is part of the series: Government entities of New Ingrea |
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The New Ingrean Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy of Crown employees that supports the government of New Ingrea. The current civil service consists of fifteen ministries, each with a number of directorates and executive agencies underneath reporting to the permanent secretary and the minister, who is selected from the government members of parliament and sits on the Cabinet. Collectively, the organisation of directorates and executive agencies that make up the civil service and are regulated by a number of separate acts, most notably the Civil Service Act[1].
New Ingrea has followed many counties with the practice of maintaining a permanent and politically neutral civil service, with members of the service not dependent on elected politicians for appointment. Today, the civil service employs approximately 175,000 staff across the country, with the majority of personnel based in and around Kingsbury, the national capital.
History
Organisation
The principal organisation of the civil service revolves around the fifteen cabinet portfolios. These portfolios, or ministries, are headed by a Minister of State and are appointed by the Sovereign on the advice the Prime Minister. Within these portfolios are grouped together a number of directorates and executive agencies who report to the appropriate minister. Each minister of state is aided by a number of Deputy Ministers and a Parliamentary Secretary, all of whom must be sitting Senators or Members of the House of Assembly.
There are also a number of independent bodies run by the government and are known as a crown statutory agency, and these bodies are not considered to be part of the civil service, but are recognised as being government entities, of which the civil service is just one part. Likewise, government owned businesses that compete against private enterprise are known as crown corporations. These bodies are run at arms length of the minister, and generally act to provide services or regulation on behalf of the government.
Ministries
There are currently fifteen executive ministries, each is led by Minister of State. In addition to their function as cabinet portfolios, the ministries provide much of the corporate support to the various departments and executive agencies under their ambit. This includes matters relating to facilities management, finance, information technology, personnel support and records management. The result of this has been a high level of stability within the civil service, with departments and agencies rarely shuffled between portfolios without a sound reason. The ministries are presently arranged by the following order of seniority:
- Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet -- Prime Minister of New Ingrea
- Ministry of Finance -- Minister of State for Finance
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs -- Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
- Ministry of Home Affairs -- Minister of State for Home Affairs
- Ministry of Defence -- Minister of State for Defence
- Ministry of Justice -- Minister of State for Justice
- Ministry of Health -- Minister of State for Health
- Ministry of Education -- Minister of State for Education
- Ministry of Labour and National Service -- Minister of State for Labour and National Service
- Ministry of Trade and Industry -- Minister of State for Trade and Industry
- Ministry of Transport -- Minister of State for Transport
- Ministry of Communications -- Minister of State for Communications
- Ministry of Primary Industry -- Minister of State for Primary Industry
- Ministry of Conservation and Land Management -- Minister of State for Conservation and Land Management
- Ministry of Energy and Water Resources -- Minister of State for Energy and Water Resources
Non-ministerial bodies
Outside the scope of the ministries and departments of civil service, lie a number of semi-independent and wholly independent agencies which are collectively known as non-ministerial bodies. Such agencies have been created largely because the central structure of the civil service is not always able to provide services and support in every situation, and therefore a separate body is required to perform a specific function of government.
As of April 2013, there are a number of non-ministerial bodies operating in New Ingrea. Most are a creation of the central government, but local authorities are also empowered to create such bodies as required. The autonomy and finances of these agencies are largely determined by either statute or by an Order-in-Council, with agencies classified by these characteristics.
References and notes
- ↑ Civil Service Act (Public Act No. 10 of 1963).