Developing the equality agenda has been a major preoccupation of policy intervention in Northern Ireland since Direct Rule from London was instituted in 1972. This paper examines how policy has developed and its effectiveness. The paper highlights new developments since the Belfast Agreement of 1998 and examines in particular new attempts to mainstream equality in the policy process. The paper concludes by suggesting that the Northern Ireland experience has much to offer students of social policy elsewhere.

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Although the United Kingdom is usually regarded as a unitary state in the mould of the Westminster model, in reality, complete political integration and administrative standardization have never existed. Recent political devolution consolidates an increasingly diverse and asymmetrical pattern of territorial governance. Frequently, however, notwithstanding some notable exceptions, this differentiation within the UK's governmental arrangements is overlooked in much of the literature. To help correct this oversight, this article reports on the longstanding differences in the public administration arrangements of one of the UK's smaller component countries, Northern Ireland. Specifically, the article focuses on the role of the Northern Ireland Civil Service and charts some of the key characteristics and trends that have emerged under both the period of Direct Rule from London (since the end of the Stormont devolution in 1972) and in the newly-restored devolved settlement that was introduced in 1999, following the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement. IntroductionComplete political integration and administrative standardization have never existed within the UK. Recent political devolution consolidates diversity. British public administration has become messy; indeed, it is rapidly becoming a case of all exceptions and few rules. However, such intra-UK differences are seldom acknowledged. Most studies of British public administration have long held that the UK is a unitary state whose governmental system is predicated on the Westminster model, despite evidence that its increasingly variegated governance renders such a model less useful. Insofar as it was ever justified to regard intra-UK differences as aberrations from the (implicitly English) norm, recent constitutional changes make it no longer credible to do so. In the UK's smaller constituent

Major policy developments in Northern Ireland concerned with socioeconomic differences between Protestants and Catholics have involved a concern with structural issues and the nature of the policy making process. These initiatives have raised considerable debate concerning the extent to which religion-specific policies are appropriate. In this article each of these initiatives is considered in detail. It is suggested that the debates in Northern Ireland could have significance in the light of proposals to develop race-specific policies in Britain.

For some years concern has been expressed about the lower qualifications of leavers from Catholic schools in Northern Ireland