Every junior minister in the Department for Communities and Local Government has changed as Prime Minister David Cameron completes his reshuffle of the government.
Secretary of state Eric Pickles was one of 12 Cabinet members to remain in place following the changes first announced yesterday, but all other posts in the department will have new occupants.Housing minister Grant Shapps has been promoted to Conservative Party chair. Former business minister Mark Prisk takes his place at the DCLG.
Planning minister Greg Clark, who also led the government’s ‘city deals' programme to devolve economic powers to the eight core cities in England, has been moved to the Treasury, where he will be financial secretary.
However, Clark confirmed on Twitter that he would retain his role as minister for cities. In June, he told Public Finance that the deals could be rolled out to more locations.
Nick Boles, the former chief executive of the Policy Exchange think-tank who was first elected as an MP in 2010, has replaced Clark as minister for planning. This will be his first ministerial post, and will be at parliamentary under secretary of state level, not the minister of state grade that Clark held.
The department’s two previous parliamentary under secretaries of state have also changed.
Bob Neill, who has been responsible for taking forward the Local Government Finance Bill – which will localise half of business rates and devolve council tax support to town halls – has left the government. His replacement will be Brandon Lewis, elected in 2010.
The sole Liberal Democrat member of the department, Andrew Stunell, has also returned to the backbenches. Don Foster, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath and a former Avon County councilor, has replaced Stunnell.
The full range of ministerial appointments are being confirmed today following yesterday’s change to Cabinet positions.
Joining Clark at the Treasury is one of the 2010 intake of MPs, Sajid Javid, and Paul Deighton, the chief executive of Locog, the organising committee of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Deighton, who will be ennobled, will join the government as commercial secretary to the Treasury from the start of next year. He will be responsible for implementing the 30-year National Infrastructure Plan, first published in 2010.
Former Treasury ministers Chloe Smith and Mark Hoban have also moved on, with Smith becoming parliamentary secretary at the Cabinet Office and Hoban employment minister at the Department for Work and Pensions.
Yesterday's biggest change at Cabinet level was Jeremy Hunt replacing Andrew Lansley as health secretary. New ministers have also been appointed to the department.
Norman Lamb, the LibDem health spokesman before the 2010 general election, has replaced Paul Burstow as minister of care services. Burstow had been leading the government’s plans to implement the recommendations of the Dilnot Commission on funding adult social care, although a final decision on this has been delayed until the next Spending Review.
Conservative MPs Daniel Poulter and Anna Soubry have both been appointed as parliamentary under-secretaries of state in the health department.
