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Ministry of Home Affairs

The Ministry of Home Affairs is the one of the largest government departments in the government of New England. The role of the Ministry is to oversee internal matters, such as policing, civil defence, local government and public administration. As such, the Ministry contains a number of varied roles and functions not seen in the other cabinet portfolios. The current Minister of State for Home Affairs is Peter Edgeworth.

The Ministry was established by the Braddock government in 2012, and was one of the nine initial departments created after independence. The powers of the ministry have since been diminished as new departments and agencies are created, leaving Home Affairs with a smaller, but a still substantial, ambit.

• Responsibilities
• Departments
• Agencies

Responsibilities

Unlike many interior ministries, Home Affairs has a wider ambit outside the area of domestic security. The ministry has responsibility for cultural affairs, emergency services, local government, public records, and rural development. A number of crown statutory agencies are notionally attached the ministry, and have additional responsibility for census and statistics, elections, and lotteries.

When the ministry was established in 2012, it was based on the British Home Office and New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs. The ministry was created with a much broader portfolio of responsibilities than it has today, including conservation, industry, planning and public works. Over time these roles have been removed to new portfolios, and this has meant that all subsequent domestic departments have effectively been created by taking responsibilities from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

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Departments

The Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for five departments:

Department of County Affairs - Responsible for the management of local government in New England, the department provides strategic leadership for the thirteen counties. The department attempts to keep itself at arms length from the democratically elected county councils, but may intervene if a county is unable to resolve an issue or becomes unmanageable. An Associate Minister for County Affairs is usually appointed to oversee the department and manage the relationship between the central government and the local authorities. The Associate Minister is Lucy Taskin.

Department of Cultural Affairs - Not to be confused with the Department of Cultural Heritage, which tends to our cultural history, the Department of Cultural Affairs manages inititives aimed at improving multiculturalism and devloping a unique national culture of New England. The department also oversees the Office of Aboriginal Development, with is charged with developing stronger indigenous communities with a number of programmes aimed at improving aboriginal health, education and workforce participation. A broad and busy department, cultural affairs is currently overseen by Lucy Taskin, who serves as the Associate Minister for Cultural Affairs.

Department of Emergency Services - All of New England's public safety bodies are managed as part of this department. All enjoy a degree of autonomy, but are effectly excecutive agencies subordinate the deaprtment. The Royal New England Constabulary manages issues of law and order across the country, while the New England Urban Fire Service protects urban centres from fire and aims to educate people on the dangers of fire. The Royal New England Ambulance Service is responsible for the transport of the sick and injured to hospital. Finally, the Civil Defence Service works to prevent and manage disasters upon the civilian population. A major department and one of the most challenging to a minister, the Associate Minister for Emergency Services is Robert Worthington.

Department of Rural Development - Charged with the protection and preservation of traditional rural communities, the department oversees a number of initiatives to assist those working in the primary industry sector. In addition, the department oversees a number of agencies that assist the sector during times of crisis. There is no associate minister for this department.

Department Public Records - Responsible for all government records and information management, the department manages the Office of Births, Deaths & Marriages, the Office of National Archives, and publishes the New England Gazette. The department does not have an associate minister.

Agencies

There are a number of additional agencies broadly within the responsibility of the Ministry.

Census and Statistics Service - New England's national statistical agency, the service is a crown statutory agency charged with providing economic and demographic statistical data, as well as co-ordinating and publishing the population census held every five years. The service is overseen by the Parliament, who recommend the appointment of the National Statiscian to the King.

Elections New England - Another crown statutory agency, this body is responsible for the planning and execution of parliamentary and county elections. Elections New England is overseen by the Parliament, who advise the King on the appointment of the Chief Electoral Officer.

Local Government Commission - Created by the Local Government Act of 2052, the commission has been established to.

National Lottery - The sole lottery in New England, the National Lottery was created by an act of parliament in 2016.

Rural Emergencies Assistance Commission - An executive agency, the REAC is charged with assisting rural communities recover from major setbacks such as drought, fire or flood.

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