All the new departments' top civil service and ministerial appointments, plus other moves – February 13

Last week, the prime minister announced plans to break up the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, create three new ministries and “refocus” the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Department for Business and Trade

Brings together the business focused functions of the former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for International Trade. 

Ministers: 

• Secretary of state, President of the Board of Trade and Minister for Women and Equalities: Kemi Badenoch MP 
• Minister of state: Nigel Huddleston MP 
• Minister of state (jointly with Cabinet Office): Nusrat Ghani MP 
• Minister of state: Lord Johnson of Lainston 
• Parliamentary under-secretary of state: Kevin Hollinrake MP 
• Minister for equalities: Stuart Andrew MP 
• Minister for women: Maria Caulfield MP 

Civil servants: 

• Permanent secretary: Gareth Davies 
• Second permanent secretary: Crawford Falconer 
• Directors general: David Bickerton, Amanda Brooks, Jo Crellin, Caleb Deeks, Bea Kilroy-Nolan, Gavin Lambert, Andrew Mitchell, Bidesh Sarkar (Interim) and Ceri Smith. 

Machinery of government:

• Non-ministerial departments: Competition and Markets Authority and HM Land Registry. 
• Executive agencies: Companies House and Insolvency Service. 
• Advisory non-departmental public bodies: Industrial Development Advisory Board, Low Pay Commission and Regulatory Policy Committee. 
• Executive non-departmental public bodies: Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, British Hallmarking Council, Competition Service, Small Business Commissioner and Trade Remedies Authority. 
• Tribunal non-departmental public bodies: Central Arbitration Committee, Competition Appeal Tribunal and Copyright Tribunal. 
• Other: British Business Bank, Certification Officer, Financial Reporting Council, Groceries Code Adjudicator, Independent Complaints Reviewer, Land Registration Rule Committee, Office of Manpower Economics, Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies, Pubs Code Adjudicator, Trade and Agriculture Commission and UK Export Finance. 

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero 

Focuses on the energy portfolio from the former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. 

Ministers: 

• Secretary of state: Grant Shapps MP 
• Minister of state: Graham Stuart MP 
• Parliamentary under-secretary of state: Andrew Bowie MP 
• Parliamentary under-secretary of state: Amanda Solloway MP 
• Parliamentary under-secretary of state: Lord Callanan 

Civil servants: 

• Permanent secretary: Jeremy Pocklington 
• Second permanent secretary: Clive Maxwell 
• Directors general: Ashley Ibbett, Lee McDonough Jonathan Mills, Paul Monks and Ben Rimmington. 

Machinery of government:

• Non-ministerial department: Ofgem. 
• Advisory non-departmental public bodies: Committee on Fuel Poverty, Committee on Radioactive Waste Management and Nuclear Liabilities Financing Assurance Board 
• Executive non-departmental public bodies: Civil Nuclear Police Authority; Climate Change Committee, Coal Authority, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Salix Finance Ltd. 
• Other: Commissioner for Shale and Gas, Great British Nuclear and North Sea Transition Authority. 

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology 

Brings together the relevant parts of the former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the former Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. 

Ministers: 

• Secretary of state: Michelle Donelan MP 
• Minister of state: George Freeman MP 
• Parliamentary under-secretary of state: Paul Scully MP 
• Lords spokesperson: Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay 

Civil servants: 

• Permanent secretary: Sarah Munby 
• Government chief scientific adviser: Sir Patrick Vallance 
• Chief operating officer: Freya Guiness 
• Directors general: Jo Shanmugalingam and Susannah Storey. 

Machinery of government:

• Executive agencies: Building Digital UK, Intellectual Property Office, Met Office and UK Space Agency. 
• Executive non-departmental public bodies: Advanced Research and Invention Agency and UK Research and Innovation. 
• Public Corporation: Ordnance Survey. 
• Other: Council for Science and Technology, Government Office for Science, National Physical Laboratory and Regulatory Horizons Council. 

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Champions sport for all at every level, supports our world-leading cultural and creative industries and enhances the cohesiveness of our communities. 

Ministers: 

• Secretary of state: Lucy Frazer MP 
• Minister of state: Julia Lopez MP 
• Parliamentary under-secretary of state; Minister for Equalities: Stuart Andrew MP 
• Parliamentary under-secretary of state: Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay 

Civil servants: 

• Permanent secretary: Polly Payne and Ruth Hannant (interim). 
• Directors general: Nicola Hewer, Sam Lister and Emma Squire. 

Machinery of government changes:

• Non-ministerial departments: Charity Commission and National Archives. 
• Executive non-departmental public bodies: Advisory Council on National Records and Archives, Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, Theatres Trust and Treasure Valuation Committee. 
• Executive non-departmental public bodies: Arts Council England, Birmingham Organising Committee for the 2022 Commonwealth Games Ltd, British Film Institute, British Library, British Museum, Gambling Commission, Museum of the Home, Historic England, Horniman Public Museum and Public Park Trust, Horserace Betting Levy Board, Imperial War Museum, National Gallery, National Heritage Memorial Fund, National Lottery Community Fund, National Museums Liverpool, National Portrait Gallery, Natural History Museum, Royal Armouries Museum, Royal Museums Greenwich, Science Museum Group, Sir John Soane's Museum, Sport England, Sports Grounds Safety Authority, Tate; UK Anti-Doping, UK Sport, Victoria and Albert Museum, VisitBritain, VisitEngland and Wallace Collection. 
• Public Corporations: BBC, Channel 4, Historic Royal Palaces and Royal Parks. 
• Other: Churches Conservation Trust, Phone-paid Services Authority, National Citizen Service, Ofcom and S4C. 

Other government departments

• Prime Minister's Offi ce: Churches Conservation Trust – Tanvir Hasan, Erin Walsh and Dr Emma Wells appointed as members. 
• Cabinet Office – Oliver Dowden MP appointed as secretary of state; he remains as chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.  Nusrat Ghani MP appointed as minister of state (jointly with Department for Business and Trade). Greg Hands MP appointed as minister without portfolio (and Chairman of the Conservative Party). 
• Nuclear Waste Services Board – Dr Mina Golshan CBE appointed as non-executive director and chair of the Environmental, Safety and Security Committee, replacing Neil Baldwin MBE. 
• Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office – Sarah Cooke appointed as British high commissioner to the People's Republic of Bangladesh from April/May, succeeding Robert Chatterton Dickson. 
• Ministry of Justice: Legal Services Board – Alan Kershaw appointed as chair for four years from 1 April. Youth Justice Board – Phillip Bowen and Duwayne Brooks appointed as members for three years from 1 March until 28 February 2026. 
• Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities – Rachel Maclean MP appointed as minister of state. 
• Department for Transport: HS2 Ltd – Sir Jonathan Thompson appointed as chair; Elaine Holt appointed as deputy chair of the Board. 
• Forestry Commission – Sir William Worsley re-appointed as chair for three years from 10 February until 9 February 2026.  

Houses of Parliament

House of Commons 

• West Lancashire by-election result: Ashley Dalton held the seat for Labour with a majority of 8,326. 
• Ruth Edwards appointed as a government whip. 

Committees

• High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill – Tahir Ali added; Wayne David discharged. 
• Human Rights Joint Committee – Caroline Johnson added; Dean Russell discharged. 
• International Trade – Andrew Western added; Tony Lloyd discharged. 
• Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament – Owen Thompson added; Stewart Hosie discharged. 
• Restoration and Renewal Programme Board – Nigel Evans appointed as chair; Thangam Debbonaire, Wera Hobhouse and Penny Mordaunt added; Sir John Benger (Clerk of the House of Commons), Paul Duffree, Steve Hails and Sir Jonathan Stephens added as lay members. 

House of Lords 

• Baroness Chalker of Wallasey (Con, life peer) retired on 3 February. 
• Justin Leslie appointed an examiner of petitions for private bills, replacing Daniel Greenberg. 

Political parties

Conservatives 

• Greg Hands MP appointed as chairman; Lee Anderson MP appointed as deputy chairman. 

Scottish Labour 

• Paul O'Kane appointed as shadow minister for drugs policy, replacing Claire Baker. He also continues as shadow minister for public health and social care. 
• Paul Sweeney appointed as shadow minister for mental health, health inequalities and sport, replacing Carol Mochan who was shadow minister for mental wellbeing, women's health and sport. Sweeney’s previous role as shadow minister for employment and public finance is still to be appointed. 

Devolved administrations

Welsh Government 

• Dawn Bowden MS (deputy minister for arts and sport and chief whip) will now take the lead on matters relating to tourism in and to Wales. 
• Careers Choices Dewis Gyrfa (Careers Wales) Board – Joni Ayn Alexander, Dr Kate Daubney and Aled Jones-Griffith appointed as members for three years; David Hagendyk and Richard Thomas re-appointed as member for three years. 

Northern Ireland Executive 

• Livestock and Meat Commission – Gerard McGivern’s term as chair extended until to 6 June; Jim Lennon, Gerry Maguire and Harry Sinclair’s terms as members of the board extended until to 6 June. 
• Northern Ireland Civil Service Board – Laura McKeaveney, Patrick Magee and Frances Ruane appointed as independent non-executive members for three years. 
• Warrenpoint Harbour Authority – Jim Brennan appointed to the board. 

Local authorities

Interested in an updated contact list of local government leaders? Get in contact with your Dods account manager or customer services for more details. 

• Brighton and Hove City Council – Geoff Raw to stand down as chief executive in May to become Managing Director of Be First London. 
• Portsmouth and Gosport Councils – David Williams to stand down as chief executive later this year. 
• Solihull Council – Paul Johnson appointed as acting chief executive. 

Industry

If you and your organisation would like to be included in this section, then email us at editor@dodsgroup.com  

Interest groups 

• British Science Association – Sarah Chaytor, Kevin Coutinho and Phil Smith appointed as trustees and members of the BSA’s Council. 
• Central YMCA – Ryan Palmer appointed as interim chief executive. 
• St Giles Trust – Tracey Burley appointed as chief executive from the end of March.