| United Kingdom Secretary of State for the Home Department | |
|---|---|
.svg) Royal Arms as used by theHome Office | |
 | |
| Home Office | |
| Style |
|
| Type | Minister of the Crown |
| Status | |
| Member of | |
| Reports to | The Prime Minister |
| Seat | Westminster |
| Nominator | The Prime Minister |
| Appointer | The Monarch (on the advice of thePrime Minister) |
| Term length | At His Majesty's pleasure |
| Formation | 27 March 1782 |
| First holder | Earl of Shelburne |
| Deputy | Minister of State for Security |
| Salary | £159,038 per annum (2022)[1] (including £86,584MP salary)[2] |
| Website | www |
Thesecretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as thehome secretary, is a seniorminister of the Crown in theGovernment of the United Kingdom and the head of theHome Office.[3] The position is aGreat Office of State, making the home secretary one of the most senior and influential ministers in the government. The incumbent is a statutory member of theBritish Cabinet andNational Security Council.
The position, which may be known asinterior minister in other nations, was created in 1782,[4] though its responsibilities havechanged many times.[5] Past office holders have included the prime ministersLord North,Robert Peel, theDuke of Wellington,Lord Palmerston,Winston Churchill,James Callaghan andTheresa May. The longest-serving home secretary isHenry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, who held the post continuously for 9 years, 221 days.[6] The shortest-serving home secretary isGrant Shapps, who served in the position for the final six days of thepremiership of Liz Truss. In 2007,Jacqui Smith became the first female home secretary.[7] The incumbent home secretary isShabana Mahmood.
The office holder works alongside the otherHome Office ministers and thepermanent under-secretary of state of the Home Office. The correspondingshadow minister is theshadow home secretary, and the performance of the home secretary is also scrutinized by theHome Affairs Select Committee in the House of Commons[8] and the Justice and Home Affairs Committee in the House of Lords.[9]
Historically, the role has been regarded as a political dead end for aspiring politicians, due to the numerous potential issues and controversies it tends to involve.[10][11][12]
Corresponding to what is generally known as aninterior minister in many other countries, the home secretary's remit includes:
Formerly, the home secretary was the minister responsible for prisons and probation in England and Wales; however in 2007 those responsibilities were transferred to theMinistry of Justice under thelord chancellor.
The titleSecretary of State in the government of England dates back to the early 17th century.[13] The position of Secretary of State for the Home Department was created in theBritish governmental reorganisation of 1782, in which the responsibilities of theNorthern andSouthern Departments were reformed into theForeign Office andHome Office.[13]
In 2007, the new Ministry of Justice took on the criminal justice functions of the Home Office and its agencies.[14]
The post of Home Secretary was created in 1782 with the formation of the Home Office
Jacqui Smith has become Britain's first female home secretary
The Committee holds regular evidence sessions with the Home Secretary, the Permanent Secretary and other officials to ask questions about the policies and priorities of the department.
The Justice and Home Affairs Committee will be questioning the Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Priti Patel MP.
The Home Office is the arm of government where at any given moment the political equivalent of a grenade can go off without notice, potentially destroying the careers of ambitious ministers - and occasionally their officials too.
The Home Office used to be regarded as a political graveyard, such was its propensity for abruptly ending ministerial careers. Those days were thought to be over when the department was stripped of some of its most troublesome responsibilities, including prisons.
The home secretary's job is generally seen as a political graveyard given the number of potential issues that can occur to damage any home secretary's reputation.
At the Restoration [in 1660] the practice of appointing two Secretaries of State, which was well established before the Civil War, was resumed. Apart from the modifications which were made necessary by the occasional existence of a third secretaryship, the organisation of the secretariat underwent no fundamental change from that time until the reforms of 1782 which resulted in the emergence of the Home and Foreign departments. ... English domestic affairs remained the responsibility of both Secretaries throughout the period. In the field of foreign affairs there was a division into a Northern and a Southern Department, each of which was the responsibility of one Secretary. The distinction between the two departments emerged only gradually. It was not until after 1689 that their names passed into general currency. Nevertheless the division of foreign business itself can, in its broad outlines, be detected in the early years of the reign of Charles II.
.svg) | ||
.svg)
.svg)
_-_The_1st_Viscount_Melville_-_N03880_-_National_Gallery.jpg)
_-_The_Right_Honourable_Charles_Philip_Yorke_(1764%25E2%2580%25931834)_-_207768_-_National_Trust.jpg)
.jpg)
.svg)
.svg)
.jpg)
)%2c_Bestanddeelnr_900-7223.jpg)
.jpg)
.svg)
.jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
.jpg)
_02.jpg)
.jpg)
.gif)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
_2.jpg)
.jpg)