Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office

Department overview
Formed	24 March 1972
Preceding Department	Dublin Castle administration (1171–1921) Home Office (1921–1972) Office of the Prime Minister (1921–1972) Office of the Governor (1922–1973)
Jurisdiction	Government of the United Kingdom
Headquarters	Northern Ireland Erskine House, 20-32 Chichester Street, Belfast, BT1 4GF Westminster 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ
Employees	167 (September 2011)[1]
Annual budget	£23 million for 2011–12[2]
Secretary of State responsible	The Rt. Hon. Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Department executive	Julie Harrison, Permanent Secretary
Website	gov.uk/nio

This article is part of a series within the Politics of the United Kingdom on the
Politics of Northern Ireland
Executive Executive Committee First Minister Michelle O'Neill deputya First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly Civil Service Government departments  a Lowercase "d" per here.
Assembly Speaker Edwin Poots MLA Acts Private Members' Bills Committees Windsor Framework Democratic Scrutiny Committee Northern Ireland Assembly Committee on Standards and Privileges Statutory rules Members (MLA) Commissioner for Standards at the Northern Ireland Assembly
Law Supreme Court (UK) Courts of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland in the UK His Majesty's Government Northern Ireland Office Secretary of State Rt. Hon. Hilary Benn MP Interministerial Standing Committee Parliament of the United Kingdom Direct rule Grand Committee Select Committee Elections Current Westminster MPs
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland All-Ireland Good Friday Agreement North/South Ministerial Council North/South Inter-Parliamentary Association British–Irish Council
Local government Local government in Northern Ireland Counties Districts Local Government Boundaries Commissioner for Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Local Government Association
Category NI portal Other countries
v t e

This article is part of a series on
Politics of the United Kingdom
Constitution Magna Carta Bill of Rights Treaty of Union (Acts of Union) Parliamentary sovereignty Rule of law Separation of powers Other constitutional principles
The Crown The Monarch (list) King Charles III Heir apparent William, Prince of Wales Royal family Succession Prerogative Counsellors of State Republicanism in the United Kingdom
Executive Privy Council Charles III (King-in-Council) HM Government Cabinet (list) Starmer ministry (L) Prime Minister (list) Keir Starmer (L) Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner (L) Departments Ministers Agencies
Legislature UK Parliament (King-in-Parliament) King Charles III House of Lords Lord Speaker The Lord McFall of Alcluith House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch (C) 59th Parliament Opposition MPs List of MPs
Judiciary Charles III (King-on-the-Bench) Supreme Court President The Lord Reed Deputy President The Lord Hodge Justices of the Supreme Court United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland Northern Ireland
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey Deputy governors Monetary Policy Committee Currencies Banknotes Coins
Elections and referendums UK Parliament constituencies (2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies) Political parties Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 Scottish Parliament constituencies and electoral regions Senedd constituencies and electoral regions UK general elections 1801 co-option 1802 1806 1807 1812 1818 1820 1826 1830 1831 1832–33 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 1910 (Jan–Feb) 1910 (Dec) 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 (Feb) 1974 (Oct) 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017 2019 2024 Endorsements 2010 2015 2017 2019 2024 European Parliament elections (1979–2019) 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 Scottish Parliament elections 1999 2003 2007 2011 2016 2021 Next Northern Ireland Assembly elections 1998 2003 2007 2011 2016 2017 2022 Next Senedd elections 1999 2003 2007 2011 2016 2021 Next UK referendums 1975 2011 2016
Devolution Intergovernmental relations in the United Kingdom Legislative consent motions Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council Council of the Nations and Regions England Governance of England English votes for English laws Greater London Authority 1998 referendum Greater London Authority Act 1999 (2007 Act) Mayor of London Sadiq Khan Mayoral cabinet London Assembly London Plan Combined authorities Metro mayors Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Act 1998 (2006 Act) First Minister Michelle O'Neill deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly Executive Assembly Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly Law of Northern Ireland Scotland Scottish devolution 1997 referendum Scotland Act 1998 (2012 Act, 2016 Act) First Minister John Swinney Government Scottish Parliament Act of the Scottish Parliament Scottish statutory instrument Scots law Wales Welsh devolution 1997 referendum (2011 referendum on law-making powers) Government of Wales Act 1998 (2006 Act, Wales Act 2014, Wales Act 2017) First Minister Eluned Morgan Government Senedd Measure of the National Assembly for Wales (1999–2011) Act of Senedd Cymru Welsh law
Administration England History Subdivisions: Regions Ceremonial counties (list) Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties Metropolitan county Non-metropolitan county Greater London Unitary authorities (list) Districts (list) Metropolitan Borough Non-metropolitan District London Borough Civil parishes (list) Historic counties Northern Ireland History Subdivisions: Counties Districts Scotland History Subdivisions: Sheriffdoms Council areas Community council areas Civil parishes Shires of Scotland Wales History Preserved counties Principal areas Communities (list) Historic counties
Crown Dependencies Bailiwick of Guernsey (Guernsey Alderney Sark) Bailiwick of Jersey Isle of Man British Islands Common Travel Area UK-CD Customs Union
Overseas Territories Akrotiri and Dhekelia Anguilla Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Montserrat Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (Saint Helena Ascension Island Tristan da Cunha) South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Turks and Caicos Islands British Overseas Territories citizen Visa requirements Visa policies British Overseas Territories Act 2002 UK-OT JMC Chagos Archipelago sovereignty dispute Gibraltar sovereignty dispute Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute
Foreign relations Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Foreign policy (history) Diplomatic missions of / in the United Kingdom UK passport British National (Overseas) passport Visa requirements UK–CD Customs Union Visa policy Free trade agreements Australia Barbados Belgium Belize Brunei Canada China Hong Kong Cyprus Denmark France Germany India Israel Italy Japan Kenya Malaysia Malta Netherlands New Zealand Norway Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Spain South Africa Palestine Pakistan Poland Portugal United States Zimbabwe Ireland politics of Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement UK–Ireland border Northern Ireland Protocol British–Irish Council European Union (history) Brexit Post-Brexit United Kingdom relations with the European Union UK–EU withdrawal agreement The Commonwealth member states United Kingdom and the United Nations United Nations Security Council P5 NATO G20 G7
United Kingdom portal England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Other countries
v t e

The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; Irish: Oifig Thuaisceart Éireann,^[3] Ulster-Scots: Norlin Airlann Oaffis)^[4] is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for handling Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and is based at Erskine House in Belfast City Centre and 1 Horse Guards Road in London.

The NIO's role is to "maintain and support" the devolution settlement resulting from the Good Friday Agreement and St Andrews Agreement and the devolution of criminal justice and policing to the Northern Ireland Assembly.^[5] The department has responsibility for:

• electoral law
• human rights and equality
• national security in Northern Ireland
• the UK Government's approach to the legacy of the Troubles

It also represents Northern Irish interests at UK Government level and the interests of the UK Government in Northern Ireland.^[6]

The Northern Ireland Office has a close working relationship with the Government of Ireland as a co-guarantor of the peace process; this includes the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference and its joint secretariat.^[7]

In the Irish Government, the NIO's main counterparts are:

• the Department of Foreign Affairs (on the peace process);^[8]
• the Department of the Taoiseach (supporting the role of the Taoiseach in the peace process);^[9]
• the Department of Justice (on national security matters and the legacy of the Troubles);^[10][11]
• the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (on electoral law).^[12]

After partition in 1924 the Dublin Castle administration was largely replaced by the Parliament of Northern Ireland with the Northern Ireland Department of the Home Office handling the oversight from London,^[13] with some extremely important decisions such as sending of British Army soldiers to Northern Ireland in 1969 being made by the Home Secretary.^[14] In March 1972 with the Troubles worsening and the UK Government losing confidence in the Northern Ireland Government, direct rule from Westminster was introduced.^[15]

The formation of the NIO put Northern Ireland on the same level as Scotland and Wales, where the Scottish Office and Welsh Office were established in 1885 and 1965 respectively. The NIO assumed policing and justice powers from the Ministry of Home Affairs. NIO junior ministers were placed in charge of other Northern Ireland Civil Service departments.

Direct rule was seen as a temporary measure, with a power-sharing devolution preferred as the solution. Under the Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland replaced the Governor of Northern Ireland and direct rule was annually renewed by a vote in Parliament.^[16]

The Sunningdale Agreement in 1973 resulted in a brief, power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive, which was ended by the Ulster Workers' Council strike on 28 May 1974. The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention (1975–1976) and Northern Ireland Assembly (1982–1986) were unsuccessful in restoring devolved government. After the Anglo-Irish Agreement on 15 November 1985, the UK Government and Irish Government co-operated more closely on security and political matters.

Following the Good Friday Agreement on 10 April 1998, devolution returned to Northern Ireland on 2 December 1999. The Northern Ireland Executive was suspended on 15 October 2002 and direct rule returned until devolution was restored on 8 May 2007.

The devolution of policing and justice powers on 12 April 2010 transferred many of the NIO's previous responsibilities to the Northern Ireland Assembly and its devolved government, the Northern Ireland Executive. The Department of Justice is now responsible for those matters. This transfer of power resulted in a smaller Northern Ireland Office, comparable to the Scotland Office and Wales Office.

The NIO ministers are as follows, with cabinet members in bold:^[17][18]

Minister	Portrait	Office	Portfolio
The Rt Hon. Hilary Benn MP		Secretary of State for Northern Ireland	Overall responsibility; Political stability and relations with the Northern Ireland Executive; National security and counter-terrorism; Implementation of the Stormont House and Fresh Start Agreements, including legacy of the past; Representing Northern Ireland in the Cabinet on EU exit, including new economic opportunities; International interest in Northern Ireland, including relations with the Irish government.
Vacant		Minister of State for Northern Ireland	Driving Economic and Domestic Policy; Long-term economic recovery from COVID-19; Promotion of the economy, levelling up and innovation - including City Deals and the Shared Prosperity Fund; Leading the department's work on the most critical constitution and rights issues in NI. Supporting the Secretary of State in his responsibilities, including: Legacy stakeholder engagement; Strengthening and sustaining the Union in Northern Ireland; Vital security casework; Building substantive relationships across sectors and communities; Leading workstreams on New Decade, New Approach Agreement; and the NI Protocol
Fleur Anderson MP		Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland	Supporting the Secretary of State on legacy, New Decade, New Approach and Protocol. Reviewing planning for future political negotiations and developing plans to help achieve greater levels of Integrated Education in Northern Ireland. Leading the department’s work on Constitution and Rights such as abortion and ensuring women have access to services. Responsible for legislation and engagement in the House of Lords. Aiding political stability such as reviewing plans for the 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Building substantive relationships across sectors and communities through engagement.

As Attorney General for England and Wales, The Lord Hermer PC KC is Advocate General for Northern Ireland, advising the UK Government on Northern Ireland law.

The department is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

The senior civil servant in the NIO is Julie Harrison, who was appointed in September 2023.

• Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
• Northern Ireland Assembly
• Northern Ireland Executive
• Department of Justice

• Northern Ireland Office