Tuesday 7 February: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has conducted a ministerial reshuffle and a shake-up of Government departments. In a statement, the Prime Minister’s office has stated that the changes will ‘ensure the right skills and teams are focusing on the Prime Minister’s five promises: to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists and stop the boats.’

What we know

The Prime Minister has set out the priorities for the new departments. For the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), it will ‘support growth by backing British businesses at home and abroad, promoting investment and championing free trade’. And for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), it will ‘recognise the importance of these industries to our economy and build on the UK’s position as a global leader in the creative arts’.

Summary of changes and what this means for West End businesses:

• The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has been broken up and merged with elements of what were the Department for International Trade (DIT), and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
• Four new departments have been created in their place; Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), Department for Business and Trade (DBT), Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
• Grant Shapps becomes Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Kemi Badenoch moves to Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Michelle Donelan becomes Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, and Lucy Frazer is promoted to the role of Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
• In other personnel changes, former Energy Minister Greg Hands MP, currently a Minister for International Trade, has become Chairman of the Conservative Party where he will be responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ). As part of this, he will play a major role in the party’s General Election campaign, as well as taking on expanded media responsibilities.
• Lee Anderson MP has been named as Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party.
• Other moves include:
  • Nigel Huddleston – Minister in the Department for Business and Trade
  • Nusrat Ghani – Minister in the Department for Business and Trade and the Cabinet Office
  • Paul Scully – Parliamentary Under Secretary in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, retaining the Minister for London portfolio
  • Kevin Hollinrake – Parliamentary Under Secretary in the Department for Business and Trade
  • Stuart Andrew – Parliamentary Under Secretary in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and in the Department for Business and Trade
  • Maria Caulfield – Parliamentary Under Secretary in the Department for Business and Trade

Over the coming weeks, we will continue to advocate on your behalf for increased support for the culture sector in the West End, as well as the skills shortages facing many businesses in the hospitality and retail sectors.

If you would like to discuss any of this further and what it may mean for your business, please contact Matt Panteli, our Head of Public Affairs, on mattp@holba.london.