Home Office

This article is about the British interior ministry. For a working room or study in a domestic dwelling, see Study (room). For small businesses operated from home, see Small office/home office.
"Home Department" redirects here. For other uses, see Ministry of home affairs.

Home Office

Headquarters at 2 Marsham Street, Westminster
Department overview
Formed27 March 1782 (1782-03-27)
Preceding Department
JurisdictionGovernment of the United Kingdom
Headquarters2 Marsham Street, London
Annual budget£20.3 billion (2022–2023)
Secretary of State responsible
Department executive
  • Simon Ridley, Acting Permanent Secretary
Websitegov.uk/home-office

The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigration, passports, and civil registration.

Agencies under its purview include police in England and Wales, Border Force, the Visas and Immigration authority, and the Security Service (MI5). It also manages policy on drugs, counterterrorism, and immigration. It was formerly responsible for His Majesty's Prison Service and the National Probation Service, but these have been transferred to the Ministry of Justice.

The Cabinet minister responsible for the department is the home secretary, a post considered one of the Great Offices of State; it has been held by Shabana Mahmood since September 2025. The Home Office is managed from day to day by a civil servant, the permanent under-secretary of state of the home office.

The expenditure, administration, and policy of the Home Office are scrutinised by the Home Affairs Select Committee.

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