The reshuffle that took place over the weekend saw huge changes at the Department of Business and Trade. Every single minister left the Department. Given that one (Douglas Alexander) was a promotion to cabinet and two of the others (Jonathan Reynolds and Sarah Jones) have been moved sideways at the same rank, it could be spun as people moving on having developed and launched Industrial and Trade Strategies. But such a level of churn is hardly likely to engender the stability that this government has aimed to foster.
Of the departing ministers, business will miss Jonathan Reynolds most. He held business facing roles for a number of years in opposition and shepherded through an Industrial Strategy which was broadly welcomed. His new role as Chief Whip will test his reputation for affability as the PM seeks to keep the lid on a restive set of back benchers. He is being replaced by Peter Kyle who was Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology. He was a technology enthusiast in that role: Made Smarter and various other technology programmes are likely to continue to enjoy ministerial support. Within three days of his appointment, he has already departed for trade talks in the US promising to boost growth. Kyle is bringing across his colleague Chris Bryant from DSIT who will most likely serve as trade minister.
The role of industry minister seems (subject to confirmation) to have been allocated to Michael Shanks. He was a junior minister in the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero who has been promoted within that Department and taken on the additional DBT role. This is the same arrangement enjoyed by his predecessor Sarah Jones (who has moved the Home Office). Shanks is a Glasgow MP who in his previous role was responsible for promoting offshore wind and nuclear, both sectors with substantial manufacturing supply chains, but doesn’t have track record of engaging with the wider sector – something business organisations will hope to change quickly.
Probably the most contentious piece of legislation for which DBT was responsible was the Employment Rights Bill. Its main sponsor within the Department, Justin Madders, has left the government and its main cheerleader in the Cabinet was Angela Rayner, whose departure sparked the reshuffle. It is almost certainly too late for there to be major changes to the face of the Bill, but much of the crucial detail was being left to secondary legislation and the all-important drafting of that will take place under the direction of the new team.
Of course, there were changes right across government including in the Departments for Education and Work and Pensions. Jaqui Smith, the Minister for Skills and Universities, is now serving jointly in both, with the skills part of her remit seemingly transferred to DWP, as is (it seems at the time of writing) Skills England. While there is undoubtedly a need to improve the skills provision for those out of work and looking for opportunities, it has to be very worrying that the skills needs that advanced manufacturers have, which are generally for high level skills, very often only fulfillable by retraining those already in the workforce, risk being de-prioritised. Government needs to understand that to do so would imperil it mission to deliver growth.