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His Majesty's principal secretaries of state, or secretaries of state, are senior ministers of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. Secretaries of state head most major government departments and make up the majority of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.

Legal position

Legislation in the United Kingdom is often written like this example section of a hypothetical Silly Walks Act 1970:

1. Grant powers

On the appointed day, the Secretary of State shall be empowered to grant money towards the development of fatuous ambulations as seen fit.

In legislation, the term "Secretary of State", thus capitalised, is interpreted under the Interpretation Act 1978 as referring to any one of the secretaries of state in use; in practice, such secretaries of state are each allocated a portfolio by the prime minister, and only exercise the powers in that portfolio. In this example, a "Secretary of State for Silly Walks" would be appointed to exercise the provisions of the Act, but could theoretically exercise the powers of, for example, the Secretary of State for Scotland at any time. There are exceptions, in that legislation sometimes refers to particular secretaries of state.

Under the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975, a maximum of 21 secretaries of state can receive a salary.

Secretaries of state and other government ministers are appointed by the Monarch exercising royal prerogative on the advice of the government. By convention secretaries of state must be a member of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords, but the prime minister can advise the monarch to confer a peerage to satisfy this requirement.

Most secretaries of state are incorporated as a "corporation sole". This gives the minister a separate legal personality, allowing continuity in areas such as the ownership of property between office-holder changes.

History

Kingdom of England

The origin of the office lies in the office of the king's private secretary. However, by the Tudor period, the office's purview had become more onerous.

In 1539 or 1540, Henry VIII appointed two people to the office. After the Stuart Restoration, the practice of appointing two secretaries of state resumed. A formal division, in the form of the offices of the secretary of state for the Northern Department and the secretary of state for the Southern Department, was made in 1689, though the office had been first divided into the Northern and Southern Department purviews in 1660.

After the Union

In 1782, the responsibilities of these offices were changed, so that one would be responsible for foreign affairs and one for domestic affairs, thus establishing the embryonic offices of foreign secretary and home secretary. Over time, the number of secretaries of states grew, so that there were five in 1900 and 14 by 1996. There are currently 16 secretaries of state.

Secretaries of state currently in use

Secretaries of state no longer in use

Health, education, work, business, energy, environment, transport and the regions

The secretaries of state that have been used for the matters of health, education, work, business, energy, environment, transport and the regions are shown in the graphic below. It shows how portfolios of responsibilities have been broadly passed down from one secretary of state position to the position(s) directly below it. However, it is impossible for such a graphic to be completely accurate; it cannot show smaller changes, or gains or losses of responsibilities within a position due to changes of responsibilities for the UK Government (for example, due to devolution or Brexit). It is not to scale. In the gaps, and before the first of these secretaries of state, relevant responsibilities were taken on by ministers not titled 'Secretary of State'.

Key:

Culture

The Secretaries of state that have been used for culture, heritage and sport are as follows:

References

1. "Interpretation Act 1978: Schedule 1". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. 1978 c. 30 (sch. 1). Retrieved 17 November 2023. "Secretary of State" means one of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State.
2. "Cabinet Manual". The Cabinet Manual. Cabinet Office. 14 December 2010. 3.27 It is also the well-established practice for each secretary of state to be allocated responsibility by the Prime Minister for a particular department (for example health, foreign affairs, defence, transport, education etc.) and, accordingly, for each Secretary of State, in practice, to exercise only those functions that are within that department.
3. For example:
   • "Digital Economy Act 2017: Schedule 4". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. 2017 c. 30 (sch. 4). Retrieved 22 June 2023.
   • "Imperial War Museum Act 1920: Schedule". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. 1920 c. 16 (sch.). Retrieved 22 June 2023.
4. "Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975, Schedule 1, Part V, Paragraph 2". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2021. In the case of the following offices a salary may be paid to more than one holder of the office at the same time, subject to the limitations expressed below, that is to say— (a) Secretary of State, so long as not more than 21 salaries are paid at the same time in accordance with Part I above;
5. The Governance of Britain Archived 1 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
6. Kelly, Richard (17 November 2023). "Ministers in the House of Lords". House of Commons Library. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
7. Cabinet Manual. Cabinet Office. 14 December 2010. 3.28 Most secretaries of state are incorporated as 'corporations sole'. This gives the minister a separate legal personality. This is administratively convenient, for example as regards the ownership of property, because it facilitates continuity when the officeholder changes. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
8. ^ Brazier, Rodney (1997). Ministers of the Crown. Oxford: Clarendon. pp. 9–10. ISBN 0-19-825988-3. OCLC 37301571.
9. ^ Pickrill, DA (1981). Ministers of the Crown. Routledge & Kegan Paul. ISBN 0-7100-0916-X.
10. ^ Sainty, J. C. (1973). "Introduction". Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 2 - Officials of the Secretaries of State 1660-1782. University of London. pp. 1–21 – via British History Online. At the Restoration 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.
11. "Ministers". gov.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
12. Torrance, David (19 June 2019). "Introduction to devolution in the UK". House of Commons Library. p. 12. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
13. ^ Defence (Transfer of Functions) Act 1964.
14. Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972.
15. The Secretary of State for Transport Order 1976.
16. The Transfer of Functions (Transport, Local Government and the Regions) Order 2002.
17. The Secretaries of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions and for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Order 2001.
18. The Secretary of State for Education Order 2010.
19. The Secretaries of State for Education and Skills and for Work and Pensions Order 2002.
20. The Secretary of State for Justice Order 2007.
21. ^ The Secretaries of State for Health and Social Care and for Housing, Communities and Local Government and Transfer of Functions (Commonhold Land) Order 2018.
22. ^ The Transfer of Functions (Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs) Order 2020.
23. "ORDERS APPROVED AND BUSINESS TRANSACTED AT THE PRIVY COUNCIL, HELD BY THE KING AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE ON 10TH JULY 2024" (PDF). Privy Council Meetings. The Privy Council Office: 20.
24. ^ "ORDERS APPROVED AND BUSINESS TRANSACTED AT THE PRIVY COUNCIL HELD BY THE KING AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE ON 15TH FEBRUARY 2023" (PDF). Privy Council Meetings. The Privy Council Office: 8–10.
25. The Secretaries of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for International Trade and for Exiting the European Union and the Transfer of Functions (Education and Skills) Order 2016.
26. Duffy, Nick (1 February 2020). "Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay exits cabinet as Boris Johnson shutters department". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
27. The Transfer of Functions (Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) Order 2021.

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