Departmental Changes Explained

The 2016-21 Mandate has seen the number of Northern Ireland government departments reduced from 12 to 9 and renamed in accordance with the Departments Act (Northern Ireland) 2016. The functions and services delivered by the 12 former departments have been restructured and transferred to the relevant new departments.

The nine new departments are:

• Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs (formally Agriculture & Rural Development)

• Infrastructure (formally Regional Development)

• Economy (formally Enterprise, Trade and Investment)

• Education

• Finance (formally Finance and Development)

• Health (formally Health, Social Service and Public Safety)

• Justice

• Executive Office (formally Office of the First and deputy First Minister)

• Communities (formally Social Development)

The 3 departments dissolved were:

• Culture, Arts and Leisure

• Environment

• Employment and Learning

The functions and services of the new departments are illustrated below (source DetailData)