Housing minister gets wider remit
New housing minister Grant Shapps will also oversee local government, regeneration, and climate change and sustainable development.
The Communities and Local Government department has released a full list of ministerial responsibilities, following the formation of the government.
Mr Shapps’ fellow minister of state at the CLG, Greg Clark, will be responsible for decentralisation, planning policy and ‘big society’ – the coalition government’s term for a society where people take greater responsibility for their communities.
Secretary of state Eric Pickles will look after the ‘overall strategic direction’ of the department.
Junior minister Andrew Stunell will also be responsible for big society, housing and regeneration, as well as community cohesion, race equality, and building regulations.
Bob Neill, who is also a junior minister, will look after fire and resilience, the Thames Gateway and Olympics, and local government and planning.
Baroness Hanham will look after productivity, procurement and value for money, transparency and data, climate change and sustainable development, ordnance survey, and the QEII conference centre.
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Readers' comments (2)
Joe Halewood | 21/05/2010 3:27 pm
So the Housing Minister, that we all know does not have a place in the Cabinet now, is given additional responsibilities.
Surely this means he will have less time to spend on housing issues then?
I strongly question the bias however inadvertant in the headline here as it implies his role is strengthened, wheras the reality and obviously reality is that he has less time to spend on housing issues. With housing being THE purpose of IH that headline is woefully inept and misleading
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Rick Campbell | 22/05/2010 3:03 pm
I, as a mere and poverty striken vulnerable teant, have some worries about the new mob in charge of our housing - and in particular the rented housing and new-build-to-rent sectors.
I am more than cynical about the government but (and it really does break my heart to say this) Mrs Thatcher headed the government that gave tenants the most ever amount of influence over their housing. Perhaps Dave and Nick will do something similar (if only by accident)?
Time will tell but the trouble with time is that it's fast running out for so many of us.
I hope that readers of IH will keep the faith and keep their eyes open. I can't afford IH so have to rely on second-hand copies and the odd bit I can squeeze out of the internet.
I worry that a new broom might well be looking at sweeping away everything that is good in its furious onslaught towards saving millions and millions at the expense of those who may least be able to afford it.
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