MHCLG reshuffle: who got what?

Two weeks after Angela Rayner fell on her sword, the responsibilities of the new ministerial team have been unveiled. So, who’s in charge of what and how might this impact the department’s key objectives of delivering 1.5 million homes this parliament and of reorganising local government? 

The Secretary of State: Steve Reed MP

A veteran of local government, moving from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with its many crossovers with MHCLG, and close ally to those in No.10, Steve Reed is a promising replacement to Angela Rayner as Secretary of State. He has sent a strong signal to housebuilders with his starting pledge to “build baby build” and “pull every leaver to get Britain building”. His experience at DEFRA could potentially help address a number of issues facing the development sector, not least the thorny issue of water infrastructure. 

As a former leader of Lambeth Council, and former deputy chairman of the Local Government Association, Reed will have an acute understanding of the issues facing local councils. His role co-chairing Vauxhall-Nine Elms-Battersea regeneration board will certainly have given him experience in the highs and lows of complex development projects. In some circles there is concern that Reed’s department, also featuring ex-Southwark Councillor McGovern, and London MPs Fahnbulleh and Pennycook, may have a more London-centric attitude than before which could influence how local government reorganisation, devolution and council tax reforms shape up.

Minister of State (Local Government and Homelessness): Alison McGovern MP

McGovern was formerly a Minister at the Department of Work and Pensions focusing on Job Centre reform and now takes on a newly formed ministerial brief that combines local government and homelessness. The latter brief formerly sat in Rushanara Ali’s brief, alongside democracy, before she too was forced to resign. Given the close links between homelessness, rising temporary accommodation costs, and local government finance, combining these roles seems sensible.

More surprising has been the decision to split responsibility for local government reorganisation and devolution between McGovern and Fahnbulleh (see below). While these two programmes are separate, they remain closely linked in many people’s minds, not least those of council leaders trying to negotiate the best deal for their residents. Perhaps splitting up the brief will make these distinct ambitions clearer and give ministers more time to focus on them, but it could also create room for miscommunication and inefficiency. 

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Devolution, Faith and Communities): Miatta Fahnbulleh MP

Fahnbulleh’s Parliamentary Under Secretary role as Minister for Devolution, Faith and Communities will work closely with McGovern’s as Local Government Minister. While McGovern will need to work amongst the weeds of crippled local government finance and take decisions on local government reorganisation proposals submitted by councils across England, Fahnbulleh’s responsibility is to encourage regional growth and investment working with Mayoral Combined Authorities and pan-regional bodies. 

While working as a civil servant, Fahnbulleh was one of the architects of the first National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Former Conservative Secretary of State Greg Clark, who she worked under during this time, publicly congratulated her on her first ministerial appointment, describing her as “a great person, of exceptional talent” and noting that “as a civil servant Miatta was my lead official on [two] big innovations: creating the first National Planning Policy Framework and the City Deals that established the mayoralties. A huge asset to the government.”

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Building Safety, Fire and Democracy): Samantha Dixon MBE MP

Samantha Dixon is also a former council leader - Cheshire West and Chester Council – receiving an MBE for her work there. Dixon takes up a challenging brief that combines building safety regulations, net zero and energy efficiency, overseeing the Building Safety Regulator and remediation programmes, resilience and emergencies, elections policy, and planning casework. During her time at Cheshire West & Chester, Dixon developed  a good working relationship with her deputy, Louise Gittins, now chair of the Local Government Association. 

Some Stability:

Matthew Pennycook MP and Baroness Stevenage emerged unscathed from the reshuffle. Pennycook will continue in his role as housing minister, focusing on housing delivery and planning reform. Meanwhile, Baroness Stevenage has continued to steer the Planning and Infrastructure Bill through the House of Lords. 

The new ministerial team faces a complex landscape – from ambitious housing targets and council reform to building safety and social cohesion. With the reshuffle complete, attention needs to turn back to delivery.