Non-ministerial department
Functional Standards Common Glossary, published by the Cabinet Office, defines a non ministerial department as: ‘A subset of arm’s length body. A public body that shares many characteristics with a full department, without ministers, and acts independently from any sponsoring department.’
Non-ministerial departments are not led directly by a minister; rather, they are led by a chief executive and by a board consisting of executive and non-executive directors.
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