Following the election of Boris Johnson as Conservative Party
Leader and Prime Minister, there have been significant changes at
ministerial level at the Ministry of Housing, Communities &
Local Government (MHCLG).
Robert Jenrick, MP for Newark in
Nottinghamshire, replaces James Brokenshire as Secretary of State
at MHCLG.
Esther McVey, MP for Tatton in Cheshire
and former Secretary of State at DWP has been brought back into
government and appointed as Minister of State at MHCLG to replace
current Housing Minister Kit Malthouse who moves on to be Policing
Minister.
Esther McVey becomes the 6th person to hold the post
of Housing Minister in the period since the 2015 General
Election:
- Brandon Lewis (Jul 2014 - Jul 2016)
- Gavin Barwell (Jul 2016 - Jun 2017)
- Alok Sharma (Jun 2017 - Jan 2018)
- Dominic Raab (Jan 2018 - Jul 2018)
- Kit Malthouse (Jul 2018 - Jul 2019)
- Esther McVey (Jul 2019 - ?)
The constant revolving door of ministers at MHCLG and the
replacement of James Brokenshire and Kit Malthouse will be seen by
many in the sector as a potential step back for council housing
given the significant policy measures introduced under their tenure
under Theresa May's Government in support of council housing,
including the lifting of the HRA borrowing cap, scrapping of the
High Value Asset Levy and a new longer term social rent policy.
ARCH and the NFA (National Federation of Almos) will be writing
a joint letter to the new Secretary of State and Minister of State
congratulating them on their appointment and urging them to
recommit to creating a new generation of council housing and we
will be seeking an early meeting with Ministers. ARCH Chief
Executive John Bibby is in any event meeting with officials in
MHCLG on the 13 August.
There has been no change in Secretary of State at the Department
for Work & Pensions with the current incumbent, Amber Rudd MP retained in post.