The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has named Jeremy Pocklington as its pick as its new director general for housing – a key focus for the department, underscored by its January name change.
Pocklington will move from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy where he is DG for energy and security.
He replaces Helen MacNamara at Marsham Street, who last month took up the role of director general for propriety and ethics in the Cabinet Office – one of Whitehall’s most important and influential jobs.
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Pocklington said his move, which is due to take place from September, would be an “exciting challenge” as the government looked to deliver on its pledge to increase housebuilding levels to the 300,000-year level by the mid-2020s.
Separately, the Department for International Trade announced that it had appointed Mark Slaughter as its new director general for investment.
Slaughter, leaves global banking giant Citigroup, where he was most recently served as a vice-chairman and Asia Pacific head of corporate and investment banking. A Harvard University educated lawyer, Slaughter was also a non-executive director of the UK Atomic Energy Authority between 2005 and 2010.
DIT perm sec Antonia Romeo said Slaughter had been picked from “an incredibly strong field of candidates” as part of a global recruitment process.
“Mark was chosen because of his wealth of experience and stellar links with the global investment community – this will be essential expertise as we continue to build on the UK’s strong foreign direct investment record,” she said.