Part of the government series of articles.
A bureau is a statutory body of a ministry or ministerial parliament, staffed by civil servants and led by a Director. Ministries and parliaments set policy and standards, and their bureaus administer them, regulate the industries they cover and run the services. The Director is appointed from industry or promoted from within the bureau and is expected to be an expert in its field. Removal requires cause.
Bureaus are large and devolved across Vekllei’s republics. A ministry bureau keeps a federal headquarters, which coordinates policy, and republic offices, which implement it locally and sometimes in another language and to different priorities. The Ministry of Labour’s republic bureaus reflect the economic composition of their territories. A labour bureau in a republic with an incomplete transition to the commons economy does different work from one in an established moneyless economy.
Every bureau has an Executive Council. The council includes the Director, the bureau’s senior staff and representatives of the parent ministry. Industry bodies also sit on the council where the bureau’s work touches their trade. The council sets policy direction and answers to the ministry or parliament. Daily administration of the bureau rests with its Director.
A bureau divides its work between departments. Departments divide theirs between offices. Secretaries lead departments and Officers lead offices, and an office handles a single specialised function. The Bureau of Standards in Oslola, established in 1962, employs 5,100 people across three departments – Standardisation, Commercial Standards and Industrial Standards – and eleven offices between them.
A bureau is one of seven relationships an organisation may hold to its ministry or parliament. Establishments, constituents, statutory authorities, independent bodies, public corporations and recognised bodies all belong to the ministry or parliament directly, and may be attached to a bureau that supervises their work. The Commonwealth Olympic Committee is a recognised body of the Ministry of Culture attached to the Bureau of Sports, and selects and trains the national teams and organises the Commonwealth’s part in the Olympic Games and the Oceans’ Games. A bureau may also hold minor constituents of its own, such as boards, registries and colleges, which answer to its Director.
A bureau is a set of offices and posts, and the people in them come from two places. Most of its staff are uncadred civil servants employed by the bureau itself. Its senior posts are filled by officers posted from the services – the permanent corps of the civil service, such as the Commonwealth Accounts Service or the Interior Service – who belong to their service and not to the bureau. The republic offices of most devolved bureaus are headed by officers of the Commonwealth Administrative Service.
| Role | Description |
|---|---|
| Director | Leads the bureau. Appointed from industry or promoted internally; expected to be a domain expert. Accountable to the Executive Council and the parent ministry. |
| Secretary | Leads a department within the bureau. May employ personal staff, known as undersecretaries. |
| Officer | Leads an office, a specialised division of a department. Requires specific expertise. |