Home office
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 2 Marsham Street, the headquarters of the Home Office |
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| Department overview | |
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| Formed | 1782 |
| Jurisdiction | United Kingdom (but in respect of most policing and justice matters: England and Wales only) |
| Headquarters | 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF |
| Annual budget | £8.9 billion (current) and £500 million (capital) in 2011–12 |
| Minister responsible | |
| Department executive |
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| Website | www |
The Home Office (HO) is a ministerial department of the Her Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for immigration, security and law and order. As such it is responsible for the police, fire and rescue services, visas and immigration and the Security Service (MI5). It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs, counter-terrorism and ID cards. It was formerly responsible for Her Majesty's Prison Service and the National Probation Service, but these have transferred to the Ministry of Justice. The Cabinet minister responsible for the department is the Home Secretary.
The remit of the Home Office was substantially reduced in 2007 when, after Home Secretary John Reid had declared the Home Office "not fit for purpose", the Prime Minister Tony Blair separated a new Ministry of Justice from the reduced Home Office.
The Home Office continues to be known, especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament, as the Home Department.
The Home Office is headed by the Home Secretary, a Cabinet minister supported by the department's senior civil servant, the Permanent Secretary.
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