Greg Clark (right) has replaced Eric Pickles as secretary of state for Communities and Local Government in the Conservative cabinet reshuffle, and will be joined at the department by new minister of state Mark Francois while minister of state Brandon Lewis retains his housing portfolio. [Corrected 12 May – we previously reported that Mark Francois was to take on the housing portfolio, see below for update].
Clark has been promoted from a ministerial role at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, to head the department responsible for creating “great places to live and work”. The DCLG has also recently assumed responsbility for architecture policy.
Previously, Clark has held the posts of minister for decentralisation at DCLG, and minister for cities at the Cabinet Office, and his appointment is being seen as a strengthening the regional and cities devolution agenda.
Industry bodies reacted positively, with Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders, saying: “Greg Clark played a crucial role in putting in place the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and we welcome his appointment as state for communities and local government.
“The NPPF has been a real step forward in terms of rationalising our planning system and enshrining the responsibility of local decision-makers to deliver sufficient new housing. It’s pleasing to see someone with Mr Clark’s understanding and commitment at the helm of the DCLG,” he added.
Bristol’s mayor George Ferguson who said on twitter: “Greg Clarke [sic] has been brilliant as minister for cities and will be a shoe-in at DCLG. [It is a] most appropriate appointment.”
Yes Tom @tomravenscroft Greg Clarke has been brilliant as Minister for #Cities and will be a shoe-in at #DCLG. Most appropriate appointment.
— George Ferguson (@GeorgeFergusonx) May 11, 2015
Mark Francois, who was previously the minister for the armed forces, was initially announced on 11 May as the minister for housing, replacing Brandon Lewis, although the DCLG later deleted this from its website.
On 12 May, it confirmed that minister of state Brandon Lewis would retain his housing role. Lewis was first appointed to the position in July 2014, with predecessor Kris Hopkins in the role for only 10 months before.
Mark Francois
Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB welcomed the announcement that Lewis was remaining as housing minister: “I am delighted to hear that Brandon Lewis will be continuing as the housing and planning minister. He’s already proved to be an excellent and effective minister. He is very much on top of his brief and has brought a new energy and commitment to the housing brief. In the last year of the previous government we saw a raft of new and positive housing related initiatives including the streamlining and speeding up of the planning process. It is good to know that these will now be taken forward and implemented and the FMB looks forward to continuing to work constructively with Brandon Lewis.”
Berry also called for the housing minister to be given greater responsibility: “As housing is such an important issue and is impacted by so many government departments, we would ideally like to see the housing minister sit at cabinet level.
Melanie Leech, chief executive of the British Property Federation, was also positive about the new appointments at DCLG, saying: “Greg Clark has done excellent work on cities in the past, and we look forward to working with him and the team. We also look forward to working through the many challenges facing the housing sector with [Brandon Lewis – corrected], in particular how to boost supply and further support the build to rent sector.”
