Home Office

The Home Office is a United Kingdom government department, responsible for internal affairs, such as law and order throughout England and Wales. It continues to be known, especially in official papers, as in former times as the Home Department.

Ministers as of 15 December 2004

• Secretary of State for the Home Department - The Rt Hon. Charles Clarke MP
  • Minister of State (Crime Reduction, Policing and Community Safety) - Hazel Blears MP
  • Minister of State (Criminal Justice System and Law Reform) - The Rt Hon. The Baroness Scotland of Asthal QC
  • Minister of State (Citizenship, Immigration and Counter-Terrorism) - Des Browne MP
  • Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Tackling Drugs, Reducing Organised and International Crime) - Caroline Flint MP
  • Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Race Equality, Community Policy and Civil Renewal) - Fiona Mactaggart MP
  • Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Correctional Services and Reducing Reoffending) - Paul Goggins MP

Departmental agencies

• Assets Recovery Agency headed by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Tackling Drugs, Reducing Organised and International Crime)
• Criminal Records Bureau headed by the Minister of State (Criminal Justice System and Law Reform)
• Forensic Science Service headed by the Minister of State (Crime Reduction, Policing and Community Safety)
• HM Prison Service headed by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Correctional Services and Reducing Reoffending)
• UK Passport Service headed by the Minister of State (Citizenship, Immigration and Counter-Terrorism)

Location

From 1978 to 2004, the Home Office was located in a Brutalist concrete tower block in Queen Anne's Gate in Westminster, by St. James's Park tube station, although many functions were devolved to offices in other parts of London and the country. Notably, the offices of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate are in Lunar House, Croydon.

In Spring 2005 the Home Office moved to a new main office designed by Sir Terry Farrell at 2 Marsham Street , Westminster, on the site of the demolished Marsham Towers building of the Department of the Environment. It shares the new facility with the Prison Service . The contract to build the new headquarters was a public-private partnership deal intended to last for around 29 years.

See also

• Home Office Large Major Enquiry System
• UK topics

External links

• Home Office website