The Civil Service Key

Datasheets are currently being updated - latest counts and details can be seen at -
http://www.oscar-research.co.uk/centralgovernment.html

4937 Addresses in Government Departments,

Executive Agencies, NDPBs etc.

The Civil Service - an overview

The Civil Service Key covers the main Departments of Government (such as Defence, Health and the Cabinet Office), a range of Executive Agencies (such as the Environment Agency and Companies House), other Public Offices such as The Health & Safety Executive, The Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Economic and Social Research Council, and a wide range of other national Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs). The Government Regional Offices, which provide a vital link between Central Government and local organisations such as Local Authorities and other local agencies, are also included.

How the data is organised

Job Function - since job titles vary between the organisations, we use job function to identify each individual's responsibilities.

Government Department - the department that the individual works for or, in the case of Executive Agencies and non-departmental public bodies, is sponsored by.

Organisation Status - identifies the type of organisation.

Department or Organisation Function - broadly identifies the role of the organisation which the individual works for, as opposed to the individual's own role. Thus, for example, the head of finance at the Environment Agency would be categorised with a JOB function of Financial Services and an ORGANISATION function of Environment.

Numbers given overleaf are for the whole UK , but addresses may also be selected by postcode area or by the administrative county within which the address is situated. However, with the exception of the Regional offices and the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland Departments, their influence is usually national. For similar types of agency with a regional or local influence, (e.g. Local LSCs, Regional Development Agencies, Jobcentre Plus) see our Local Quangos database .

The Local Quangos Key

Quangos are Quasi Autonomous Non-Government Organisations - non-elected bodies established, funded and often appointed by Government to carry out various functions at “arms length”. There is no precise definition of a Quango but they can cover a wide range of activities, several of which are covered by our other databases. For example, NHS Trusts, which we list in The Health Service Key, are most certainly Quangos; they are government-funded, government-appointed bodies providing healthcare facilities using taxpayers' money channelled to them through the Health Authorities.

This database encompasses those Quangos which are not otherwise covered by other Key databases and which have a local or regional rather than national role. It includes bodies with a role in employment and training, such as the Business Links and Learning & Skills Councils, as well as those concerned with regeneration and regional development - Regional Development Agencies .

Chambers of Commerce - although these are primarily privately funded by their members they are included here because they are often involved in publicly funded local training and enterprise initiatives.

Regional Assemblies – These are groupings of both local government and other local organisations within each region, such as Chambers of Commerce, which are increasingly being used by government to channel EC and central government policies on a wide range of matters such as regional spatial planning, housing and education down to local level. The intention was that their role would be formalised by directly elected regional assemblies but following the North East's rejection of this proposal in the 2004 referendum, they are continuing in their current form.

Jobcentres and Social Security offices have mostly been combined under the aegis of the Department of Work and Pensions into Jobcentre Plus. Jobcentre Plus has District Managers, who manage a cluster of local offices, a Business Manager and sometimes a Benefits Manager for each individual office.

Connexions is the all-embracing advice service for young people, covering not only careers advice but also a wide range of personal and social advice. Most of the original Connexions offices have been re-structured and some have been taken under the control of local authorities.

The Law Key

England and Wales now has a unified court service, in which Her Majesty's Court Service manages all local courts, including Crown, County and Magistrates' Courts. Magistrates' Courts provide the first level of judicial court dealing with the vast majority of offences. Crown Courts handle the most serious criminal offences; County Courts with civil cases. Arrangements in Scotland and Northern Ireland are different.

The Probation Service deals with the rehabilitation of ex-offenders, and the supervision of Community Service. In Scotland the nearest equivalent is the Criminal Justice Service, which is part of each local authority's social services set-up. Details of Criminal Justice Service Managers can be found in The Local Government Key .

The Prison Service deals with offenders serving custodial sentences; the structure is similar throughout the UK .

The Probation Service - Covers the Chief Probation Officers, the Chairs of Probation Boards and senior administrative contacts.

Magistrates', Crown and County Courts are managed by Court Managers. Many also have Administrative and Legal Services managers.

Scotland has Sheriff & District Courts and Northern Ireland has Petty Sessions: some of the smaller courts are headed by a Depute/Deputy.

The Prisons - The Prison Governor is the main contact for each prison. England and Wales have a tier of Area Directors .

Numbers given below are for the whole UK , but addresses can also be selected by location or by postcode area at no extra cost.

The Parliaments Key

This database encompasses both houses of the UK parliament at Westminster , the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the UK members to the European Parliament. Most members of the home parliaments use the relevant Parliament address for all Parliamentary business but Westminster Ministers are addressed at their Ministerial office. Members of the European Parliament mostly use their UK Constituency addresses.

UK - Members of the Government (i.e. Ministers) and the Cabinet are also identified, along with opposition party Leaders & spokesmen according to the departments they run or shadow.

Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland - Members of the Scottish Cabinet, Welsh Cabinet and Northern Ireland Executive are also identified.

Departmental Interest/Portfolio - identifies the department(s) that each MP is associated with .

Numbers given below are for the whole UK, but the data is also selectable by the County (administrative area) in which each elected member's constituency is situated (not applicable to members of the House of Lords).