UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak has confirmed the reshuffling of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as part of a Cabinet reshuffle. The new structure will create a dedicated Department for Energy Security and Net-Zero, which will be responsible for securing the UK’s long-term energy supply, reducing bills, and halving inflation. The department will be led by Secretary of State Grant Shapps and Permanent Secretary Jeremy Pocklington.
Sunak’s decision to split up BEIS follows his promise to do so during his campaign for Conservative Party leadership against Liz Truss. The new department will focus solely on energy, while the business-related work of BEIS will be merged into the Department for Business and Trade, and other parts into the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology. The formation of the Department for Energy Security and Net-Zero has been welcomed by the Climate Change Committee CEO Chris Stark, who stated that Pocklington “knows the energy issues very well indeed”.
The new department has been established in response to the significant impact that rising prices have had on households across the country due to the illegal war in Ukraine and the need to secure more energy from domestic nuclear and renewable sources as the UK transitions to net zero. Sunak has faced mounting calls in recent weeks from organizations such as the Confederation of British Industry, the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, and trade bodies representing over 750 clean energy businesses, to ensure that the UK remains competitive on the international cleantech stage.
Sunak has also confirmed the appointment of junior Ministers for the new department. Graham Stuart, who was selected as Climate Minister within BEIS by Liz Truss and retained in this post by Sunak, will work for the department, as will Andrew Bowie, who will be the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State. The formation of the Department for Energy Security and Net-Zero creates a setup that mirrors the departmental hierarchy pre-Theresa May, when the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) existed.
The changes come ahead of this year’s Budget, which is expected to be delivered in mid-March by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. Hunt has stated that the Budget will include measures to encourage innovation in cleantech and address looming green skills gaps. The reshuffle also creates a setup that mirrors the Labour Party’s setup, with separate Shadow Ministers for business and industrial strategy and climate and net-zero.
In addition to the formation of the Department for Energy Security and Net-Zero, Sunak has merged parts of the Department for International Trade with parts of BEIS relating to business, creating the Department for Business and Trade, which will be led by Secretary of State Kemi Badenoch. The change aims to join up work on “backing British businesses at home and abroad”.
Other parts of BEIS’s business function and industrial strategy function will be rolled into the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, which will be led by Secretary of State Michelle Donelan. Sunak has also stripped out the “Digital” element from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS), creating a new Department for Culture, Media, and Sport, which will be led by Secretary of State Lucy Frazer.
In conclusion, the reshuffling of BEIS creates a dedicated Department for Energy Security and Net-Zero, which will focus solely on energy and be responsible for securing the UK’s long-term energy supply, reducing bills, and halving inflation. The department will be led by Secretary of State Grant Shapps and Permanent Secretary Jeremy Pocklington, and its formation has been welcomed by the Climate Change Committee CEO Chris Stark. The reshuffle also creates a setup that mirrors the departmental hierarchy pre-The May era, as well as the Labour Party’s setup, and is expected to help the UK remain competitive on the international cleantech stage. The formation of the department comes ahead of this year’s Budget, which is expected to include measures to encourage innovation in cleantech and address looming green skills gaps. With the UK legally required to update its Net-Zero Strategy by the end of March, the reshuffling of BEIS is a positive step towards ensuring a secure energy future for the country.
