Departmental Restructure - What is going where?

This week First Minister Peter Robinson announced details of the changes to Departmental structures as agreed at the talks in Stormont House before Christmas 2014.

The First Minister's statement is available in full here.

The Stormont House Agreement included a commitment to a reduction in the number of Departments from the current 12 to nine by the 2016 election.

The nine future departments will be called:

  • Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
  • Department for Communities
  • Department for the Economy
  • Department of Education
  • Department of Finance
  • Department of Health
  • Department for Infrastructure
  • Department of Justice
  • The Executive Office

Responsibilities from existing Departments have been reallocated to the new Departments as below.

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs takes on the majority of the current DARD portfolio and environmental functions from DoE, including regulation. The new Department also takes responsibility for the sustainability strategy from OFMDFM and inland fisheries from DCAL.

Existing functions of DSD and most of DCALs functions will transfer to the new Department for Communities, except for fisheries and waterways (which have gone to Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs). DEL’s Employment Service transfers to this new Department as do DoE responsibilities for local government and built heritage. The Department will also assume a range of responsibilities for the social investment fund, racial equality, united communities and good relations, disability and poverty, gender and sexual orientation and north-west sites and strategy from OFMDFM.

A new Department for the Economy will combine the functions of DETI and DEL, not including the Employment Service (which is in the new Department for Communities).

The Department of Education will continue with the functions of the existing DE and take a range of children’s responsibilities including the childcare strategy and children and young people. In his statement the Minister noted that “the definition of children’s services transferring to this new Department will need further refinement.”

The new Department of Finance will retain the functions of DFP and adds to that responsibility for the government advertising unit and the NI Direct central editorial team.

Responsibility for public safety is removed from the new Department of Health (transferred to Justice) but otherwise retains the functions of the existing DHSSPS. Added to the portfolio is responsibility for older people and the active aging strategy (from the current OFMDFM).

The Department for Infrastructure will gain the existing responsibilities from the current DRD and gain a range of functions from other departments including:

  • Vehicle regulation, road safety and DVA functions (from DoE)
  • Rivers Agency (from DARD)
  • Inland waterways (from DCAL)
  • Strategic investment unit and regeneration sites (from OFMDFM)

The new Department of Justice retains current functions from the existing DoJ and adds to this public safety (from DHSSPS) and support for the Planning Appeals Commission and Water Appeals Commission (from OFMDFM).

Perhaps the most changes happen to OFMDFM itself which sheds most of its delivery functions and is renamed the Executive Office. It will retain its role in the coordination of the Programme for Government. As well as policy responsibility for equality, good relations, the Together: Building a United Community strategy and Delivering Social Change. The new office also retains support for a number of key institutions including the Attorney General’s Office, the Equality Commission, the, the historical institutional abuse inquiry and the Victims and Survivors Service amongst others.

Share your COVID-19 support service

Organisations providing support to people and communities can share their service information here

> Share your support

Not a NICVA member yet?

Save time, money and energy. Join NICVA and you’ll be connecting in to a strong network of local organisations focused on voluntary and community activity.

Join Us

NICVA now welcomes all small groups for free.

Read more on...