Executive agency
An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or Northern Ireland Executive. Executive agencies are "machinery of government" devices distinct both from non-ministerial government departments and non-departmental public bodies (or "quangos"), each of which enjoy legal and constitutional separation from ministerial control. The model has been applied in several other countries.
For other uses, see Executive agency of the European Commission.Size and scope[edit]
Agencies[1] include well-known organisations such as His Majesty's Prison Service and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. The annual budget for each agency, allocated by HM Treasury, ranges from a few million pounds for the smallest agencies to £700m for the Court Service. Virtually all government departments have at least one agency.
Other countries[edit]
Several other countries have an executive agency model.
In the United States, the Clinton administration imported the model under the name "performance-based organizations."[3]
In Canada, executive agencies were adopted on a limited basis under the name "special operating agencies."[4] One example is the Translation Bureau under Public Services and Procurement Canada.
Executive agencies were also established in Australia, Jamaica, Japan and Tanzania.