As members will have no doubt noticed, the UK has a new Government following the long Conservative leadership race over the summer. PM Liz Truss has unveiled her new team, with broad changes across all departments. All four Great Offices of State have changed with Kwasi Kwarteng MP taking over at the Treasury, Suella Braverman MP now Home Secretary, and James Cleverly MP assuming the position of Foreign Secretary, in addition, of course, to Liz Truss MP as the United Kingdom’s new Prime Minister.
The broad changes extend to all departments which BIVDA interact with, too. It should be noted that we still await clarity regarding new ministers’ briefs and the full list of official departures from departments.
The Department of Health and Social Care has a new Health Secretary in the form of key Truss ally Dr Therese Coffey MP, who will also take on the role of Deputy Prime Minister. You can read BIVDA’s profile of Dr Coffey in our Headlines section. Robert Jenrick MP, a former Housing Secretary, and Will Quince MP have been made Ministers of State for Health, with Gillian Keegan MP leaving the department. The Health Service Journal is also reporting that Dr Caroline Johnson MP and Neil O’Brien MP have both been appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department of Health.
At the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Jacob Rees-Mogg MP, a noted enemy of regulations and red tape has been made Secretary of State and is expected to play an integral role in the Prime Minister’s pursuit of economic growth. Three new ministers have taken positions in the department – Jackie Doyle-Price MP and Nusrat Ghani MP have become Ministers of State, with Graham Stuart MP assuming the safe brief but with a focus on the climate. Greg Hands MP has announced that he is leaving the department having served in Government for 11 years.
Kemi Badenoch MP, a rising star within the Conservative Party, has been appointed as the International Trade Secretary replacing Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, who takes over as Transport Secretary. Conor Burns MP and James Duddridge MP have been added to her team as Ministers of State in the trade department.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who BIVDA have a growing relationship with, have a new Secretary of State in Ranil Jayawardena MP, which represents a significant promotion for the Hampshire MP. Ex-Chief Whip and stalwart of the Johnson Government Mark Spencer MP has been made a Minister of State in the department.
As mentioned previously, Kwasi Kwarteng MP has been tasked with steering the UK’s economic fortunes as the new Chancellor of the Exchequer. He will be given the monumental job of delivering Prime Minister Truss’s tax cuts and budgeting the sweeping energy price freezes. Chris Philp MP replaces Simon Clarke MP as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, with the latter promoted to Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Andrew Griffith MP is now Financial Secretary to the Treasury.
We hope to bring you greater detail next week on each ministers’ briefs and other key posts, such as Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, which have yet to be filled.
