Localities will decide the number of departments and branches.

The Ministry of Home Affairs is drafting two decrees related to the merger of a number of departments and branches in the spirit of Resolution 18-NQ/TW, the 6th Central Conference, 12th tenure. Accordingly, local authorities will be able to decide on the number of departments and branches.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Duy Thang said that the Ministry is drafting a Decree to replace Decree 24/2014 regulating the organization of specialized agencies under the People's Committees at the provincial level and a draft Decree to replace Decree 37/2014 regulating the organization of specialized agencies under the People's Committees at the district level.

“Resolution 18-NQ/TW of the 6th Central Conference assigned the Government to only stipulate the framework. First, the framework of specialized agencies, second, the framework of deputy levels, third, the minimum number of staff to establish and the criteria for establishing special units. On that basis, the Government assigned the locality to decide. In the near future, the structure of the Department will not be regulated in the current Joint Circular. With the new Decree, the Joint Circular will no longer be effective. In the near future, the Central Government will not regulate how many divisions the Department has but will delegate authority to the locality, only issuing criteria and how to establish divisions,” Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Duy Thang emphasized at a press conference on March 26 in Hanoi.

Accordingly: Group 1 is 7 Departments organized uniformly nationwide including: Home Affairs, Justice, Natural Resources and Environment, Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, Health, Inspectorate, Office of the Provincial People's Committee. As for the Office of the Provincial People's Committee, if the pilot merger with the Office of the Provincial People's Council and the Office of the National Assembly Delegation into a general advisory and assistance office is carried out, the name will be changed to the Office of the Provincial Local Government.

Group 2 includes Departments that are regulated in the direction of assigning authority to the Provincial People's Committee to submit to the People's Council of the same level for decision to maintain stability or merge. Group 3 includes Departments that are regulated in the direction of assigning authority to the Provincial People's Committee to submit to the People's Council of the same level for decision to maintain stability or merge.

For 4 special Departments that are not organized uniformly among localities, namely: Department of Planning and Architecture under the People's Committee of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and 3 Departments whose establishment criteria are regulated by the Government: Ethnic Minorities Committee, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Tourism, the People's Committee at the provincial level shall submit to the People's Council at the same level for decision on maintaining stability or merging, establishing or not establishing.

Regarding the number of Departments after the reorganization, the Ministry of Home Affairs proposed two options. Option 1 stipulates the total number of Departments after the merger, consolidation, establishment or non-establishment, ensuring that the total number of Departments after the reorganization does not exceed the current number of Departments. Option 2 stipulates the total number of Departments after the merger, consolidation, establishment or non-establishment, ensuring the maximum number of Departments of each locality according to the classification of provincial-level administrative units. This includes regulations on the criteria for establishing organizations under the organizational structure of the Department and the number of deputy heads of the Department and organizations within the Department./.