Pickles stays as Communities Secretary but ministerial team sees shake-up
Eric Pickles is to continue as Communities Secretary but will have a revamped ministerial team following yesterday’s reshuffle, the first carried out by Prime Minister David Cameron since the formation of the coalition government.
The shake-up sees Grant Shapps promoted to Chairman of the Conservative Party (with a seat in the Cabinet as minister without portfolio) and Greg Clark move to the Treasury. Mark Prisk and Nick Boles take over as Housing Minister and Planning Minister respectively.
Liberal Democrat Don Foster becomes Communities Secretary in place of Andrew Stunell. There have been conflicting reports on the fate of Bob Neill and Baroness Hanham, currently Parliamentary Under Secretaries of State, with some suggesting that Neill would return to the back benches.
The full line-up at the Department of Communities and Local Government is:
- Communities and Local Government Secretary: Eric Pickles
- Planning Minister: Nick Boles
- Housing Minister: Mark Prisk
- Communities Minister: Don Foster
In other significant developments for local government legal practice, non-lawyer Chris Grayling has replaced Ken Clarke as Justice Secretary. Clarke has been handed an economic advisory role.
Grayling will oversee the implementation of the Jackson reforms through the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. The reforms are due to come into force in April 2013. Just one member of the ministerial team at the Ministry of Justice, Lord McNally, has remained in place. Jonathan Djanogly has returned to the back benches.
Elsewhere, Jeremy Hunt has taken over as Health Secretary from Andrew Lansley, who pushed through the Government’s controversial healthcare reforms. Lansley becomes Leader of the Commons, while Hunt is replaced as Culture Secretary by Maria Miller.
David Laws, who was forced to stand down as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, returns to the Government as Schools Minister.
UPDATE: Brandon Lewis has replaced Bob Neill at the DCLG. Baroness Hanham remains in post. Baroness Warsi has become Minister for Faith and Communities.