Governance of England
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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.[1] 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
[edit]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.[citation needed] 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 UK government has no plans to create a devolved English parliament and corresponding English executive.
Devolved governance within England
[edit]
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.[2] The Greater London Authority and the combined authorities are led by directly elected mayors supported by an elected assembly in London and boards of local authority leaders in the combined authorities.
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.[3] As of October 2024, 48% of the population and 26% of the land area of England is represented on the Mayoral Council.[4] 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
[edit]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.[5]
Ministerial departments
[edit]- 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;
Non-ministerial departments
[edit]- Forestry Commission
- Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted)
- Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual)
Executive agencies
[edit]- 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
[edit]- 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
[edit]Ombudsman
[edit]Government owned companies
[edit]- Community Health Partnerships
- Genomics England
- National Highways
- NHS Property Services
- NHS Professionals
- NHS Shared Business Services
'England-only' mechanisms in the UK parliament
[edit]Unlike, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which have had their own devolved legislatures since the late 1990s, England remains under the full jurisdiction of the United Kingdom parliament based in Westminster. In the parliament elected in 2024, 543 members represented constituencies in England out of a total of 650.
Some mechanisms exist within the UK parliament to allow members elected from constituencies elected in England to discuss issues relating to the nation as a whole or to specific regions of England.
The Regional Affairs Committee was established in 2000. It has 13 members, however any MP from a constituency in England may attend and participate in its procedures effectively making it a de facto English grand committee. The standing order establishing the Regional Affairs Committee remains in force, however the committee last met in 2024 and no appointments have been made to it since 2005.
Eight Regional Grand Committees and Regional Select Committees existed between 2008 and 2010 for the eight regions of England outside Greater London.
As part of a commitment to introduce a policy known a English votes for English laws, prime minister David Cameron established a Legislative Grand Committee in 2015 in an attempt to give English MPs a greater say over legislation that only applies to England. This system was discontinued in 2021 by Boris Johnson government.
Historical governments of England
[edit]- Government in Anglo-Saxon England
- Government in Norman and Angevin England
- Government in late medieval England
- Elizabethan government
References
[edit]- ^ Welcome parliament.uk, accessed 5 March
- ^ (1) Henderson (2) Paun, (1) Duncan (2) Akash (March 6, 2023). "English Devolution". Institute for Government.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Serving the country".
- ^ https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/english-devolution
- ^ https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Devolving-English-Government.pdf
Further reading
[edit]- Report on devolution and the governance of England, House of Commons Justice Committee, 24 May 2009
- English devolution - Institute for Government
