Northern Ireland Civil Service facts for kids

The Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) is a team of permanent employees who help run the government of Northern Ireland. They make sure that the decisions made by the government, called the Northern Ireland Executive, are put into action every day.

The NICS is one of three main civil services in the United Kingdom. The others are the Home Civil Service, which helps the UK government, and HM Diplomatic Service, which works with other countries.

A general view of Parliament Buildings, where the Northern Ireland Assembly meets.

How the NICS Started

Early Days (1921–1972)

Northern Ireland was created in 1920. Its first local government, the Parliament of Northern Ireland, started in 1921. The first people working for the NICS came from the Irish civil service in Dublin.

Back then, the Northern Ireland Government had several main departments:

• Department of the Prime Minister
• Ministry of Agriculture
• Ministry of Commerce
• Ministry of Education
• Ministry of Finance
• Ministry of Home Affairs
• Ministry of Labour

Later, in 1944, a new department was added: the Ministry of Health and Local Government. This was to help set up the National Health Service and other public services. In 1965, it split into two new ministries. In 1969, a Ministry of Community Relations was created to help with growing problems in Northern Ireland.

Direct Rule Years (1972–1999)

In 1972, the local government in Northern Ireland was stopped. This was called "direct rule" because the United Kingdom Government took over running things directly. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland became responsible for the government.

For a short time in 1974, a new power-sharing government, the Northern Ireland Executive, was in charge. It had departments like:

• Department of Agriculture
• Department of Commerce
• Department of Education
• Department of the Environment
• Department of Finance
• Department of Health and Social Services
• Department of Housing, Local Government and Planning
• Office of Law Reform

However, this government quickly ended. Direct rule started again and lasted for many years. During this time, the NICS was not directly controlled by local politicians. Instead, junior ministers from the UK government oversaw the departments.

From 1982 to 1999, there were six main departments:

• Department of Agriculture
• Department of Economic Development
• Department of Education
• Department of the Environment
• Department of Finance and Personnel
• Department of Health and Social Services

Return to Local Government (1999-2016)

The Good Friday Agreement in 1998 led to the return of local government in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Executive started again in December 1999. This meant the NICS was once more accountable to local ministers.

Sometimes, the Executive was paused due to political disagreements. When this happened, direct rule would return for a while.

With the return of local government, the number of NICS departments grew. There were initially 10 departments, each with its own ministers. Some of these included:

• Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister (OFMDFM)
• Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD)
• Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL)
• Department of Education (DE)
• Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI)
• Department of the Environment (DoE)
• Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP)
• Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS)
• Department for Employment and Learning (DEL)
• Department for Regional Development (DRD)
• Department for Social Development (DSD)

In 2010, an eleventh department was created: the Department of Justice (DoJ).

Recent Changes (2016 onwards)

In 2015, an agreement was made to reduce the number of government departments. This change happened after the 2016 election. Three departments were closed, and their jobs were moved to other departments.

Now, the main departments are:

• The Executive Office (TEO)
• Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA)
• Department for Communities (DfC)
• Department for the Economy (DfE)
• Department of Education (DE)
• Department of Finance (DoF)
• Department of Health (DoH)
• Department for Infrastructure (DfI)
• Department of Justice (DoJ)

Since 2017, the Northern Ireland Executive has faced periods where it has not been fully formed due to political disagreements. During these times, senior civil servants called Permanent Secretaries lead each department. They meet regularly to keep the government running. Jayne Brady is currently the Head of the Civil Service in Northern Ireland.

Who Works in the NICS

In June 2011, the Northern Ireland Civil Service had 25,847 staff members. This was part of a larger group of 218,577 people working in public services in Northern Ireland.

Here's how many people worked in each department at that time:

Many other people work in public services in Northern Ireland. For example, over 68,000 people work in health services, and over 65,000 work in schools and education. Local councils employ over 12,000 people, and the Police Service of Northern Ireland has over 10,000 staff. Overall, about 31% of all workers in Northern Ireland work in the public sector.

Rules and Values

The NICS has special rules to make sure its work is fair and honest. These rules are overseen by the Civil Service Commissioners for Northern Ireland. These Commissioners are not civil servants themselves, so they are independent.

They make sure that new people are hired fairly, based on their skills. They also listen to any complaints from civil servants about the rules.

The NICS has a "Code of Ethics" that all civil servants must follow. It lists four main values:

• Integrity: This means putting the public's needs before your own personal interests.
• Honesty: This means always being truthful and open in your work.
• Objectivity: This means making decisions based on facts and careful analysis, not personal feelings.
• Impartiality: This means treating everyone fairly and equally, no matter their political views.

The code also explains how civil servants should act to show these values in their daily work.

How the NICS is Organised

The NICS has different groups of staff. These are the Senior Civil Service, Non Industrial staff, and Industrial staff.

Senior Civil Service

This group has four main levels:

• Grade 5: Usually leads a large section or division of a department.
• Grade 3: Leads a whole part of a department or an agency.
• Permanent Secretary: This is the head of a department.
• Head of Service: This is the top leader of the entire Northern Ireland Civil Service.

Non Industrial Staff

This group has eight different levels, from entry-level to more senior roles:

• Administrative Assistant
• Administrative Officer
• Executive Officer II
• Executive Officer I
• Staff Officer
• Deputy Principal
• Grade 7
• Grade 6

These grades include many different types of jobs, like general office work or specialist roles.

Industrial Staff

This group includes staff who do practical, hands-on jobs. They have different pay groups depending on their work. Examples include road workers for the Department for Infrastructure or skilled craft workers in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.