Governance of England

There has not been a government of England since 1707 when the Kingdom of England ceased to exist as a sovereign state, as it merged with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Kingdom of Great Britain continued from 1707 until 1801 when it merged with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which itself became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) in 1922 (in reality; in name in 1927) upon independence for most of the island of Ireland.

Background

The UK since then has gone through significant change to its system of government, with devolved parliaments, assemblies and governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. England, however, remains under the full jurisdiction, on all matters, of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the UK government as no devolved administration has been created for England within the new structure.

This situation led to the anomaly, known as the West Lothian question, which is that Scottish Members of Parliament (MPs) have been able to vote on legislation that affects only England whereas English MPs have been unable to vote on certain Scottish matters due to devolution. In some cases, such as top-up university tuition fees and foundation hospitals, the votes of Scottish MPs have been crucial in helping pass legislation for England that the majority of English MPs have opposed. An attempt was made to address this anomaly in 2015 through the use of an English votes for English laws procedure which aims to ensure that legislation affecting only England requires a majority vote of MPs representing English constituencies.

Another possible solution to the West Lothian question would have been devolution to the English regions but attempts have been unsuccessful so far. Amongst the parts of England, Greater London has a degree of devolved power (although weaker than that of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) with power vested in an elected Mayor of London, currently Sadiq Khan and the London Assembly.

The country is therefore officially divided into the following in terms of governance:

• The nine English regions,
• The modern day local authority areas,
• The geographical/ceremonial counties of England.

The incumbent government has no plans to create a devolved English parliament.

Devolved governance within England

First meeting of the Mayoral Council for England on 10 October 2024.

Main articles: Devolution in the United Kingdom, Mayoral Council for England, Greater London Authority, and Combined authority

As of October 2024, powers have been devolved to the Greater London Authority and 11 mayoral Combined Authorities to varying degrees. There are proposals for more combined authorities to be established in the future.

In 2024, the newly elected Labour government established a Mayoral Council for England, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, to bring together ministers from the UK government, the Mayor of London and the mayors of England's combined authorities. As of October 2024, 48% of the population and 26% of the land area of England is represented on the Mayoral Council. Additionally a UK wide Council of the Nations and Regions was formed which includes the Prime Minister, the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales, the First and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, the Mayor of London and the combined authority mayors.

'England-only' departments of the UK government

Several ministerial government departments, non-ministerial government departments, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies of the UK government have responsibilities for matters affecting England alone.

Ministerial departments

• Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
• Department for Education
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
• Department of Health and Social Care

The following ministerial departments deal mainly with matters affecting England though they also have some UK-wide responsibilities in certain areas;

• Department for Transport
• Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Non-ministerial departments

• Forestry Commission
• Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted)
• Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual)

Executive agencies

• Active Travel England
• Education and Skills Funding Agency
• Health Security Agency
• Planning Inspectorate
• Rural Payments Agency
• Standards and Testing Agency
• Teaching Regulation Agency

Non-departmental public bodies

• Arts Council England
• Care Quality Commission
• Children's Commissioner for England
• Environment Agency
• Forestry England
• Historic England
• Homes England
• Natural England
• NHS England
• NHS Resolution
• Office for Local Government (Oflog)
• Office for Place
• Office for Students
• Office of the Schools Adjudicator
• Regulator of Social Housing
• School Teachers' Review Body
• Skills England
• Social Work England
• Sport England
• VisitEngland

Tribunals

• Valuation Tribunal for England

Ombudsman

• Housing Ombudsman
• Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

Government owned companies

• Community Health Partnerships
• Genomics England
• National Highways
• NHS Property Services
• NHS Professionals
• NHS Shared Business Services

Historical governments of England

• Government in Anglo-Saxon England
• Government in Norman and Angevin England
• Government in late medieval England
• Elizabethan government

Further reading

• Report on devolution and the governance of England, House of Commons Justice Committee, 24 May 2009
• English devolution - Institute for Government

See also

• Politics of England
• West Lothian question
• Devolved English parliament
• List of parliaments of England
• Campaign for an English Parliament