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InEngland,regional ministers were appointed from 2007 on a part-time basis as part ofHer Majesty's Government. Each minister had other departmental responsibilities, as well as specific responsibilities for one of theEnglish regions. Their stated role was "to provide a clear sense of strategic direction for the nine English regions and to help strengthen their links with central government."[1]
Following the2010 general election, the Prime Minister's Spokesman was asked on 17 May 2010 if Regional Ministers had been scrapped. He said that the process of completing appointments to the Government was continuing, and that the Prime Minister,David Cameron, "had been very clear on the importance of devolution".[2] On 4 June 2010 theEvening Standard reported that the post ofMinister for London had been scrapped.[3] No formal announcements were made in relation to regional ministers, but as of October 2010 no appointments had been made by thecoalition government.
Since 2010, a number of similar roles have been created, including aMinister for Cities in 2011,[4]Minister for Portsmouth in 2014[5] and Minister for theNorthern Powerhouse in May 2015.[6]
Regional ministers in England were first appointed by the incomingPrime Minister,Gordon Brown, on 28 June 2007, as part of his initial Government reshuffle. At the time, his spokesman said that their role would be "to act as regional champions within government, and to represent the government in parliamentary debates and other forums on regional issues."[7]
A proposal to establish such ministerial positions had been made by think tank theNew Local Government Network (NLGN) in its reportRedesigning Regionalism: Leadership and Accountability in England's Regions, which in turn had developed from a 2006 pamphlet written byMPsEd Balls andJohn Healey, and NLGN Director and former MPChris Leslie.[8] Establishing regional ministerial posts was proposed by the NLGN "if devolution from Whitehall to regional and local leadership is regarded as too big a step straight away".[9] The report argued that "...the appointment of a series of Ministerial portfolio holders to represent and act for Government as policy leaders in each of the English regional might provide a greater degree of focus for regional policy, encourage a more integrated approach across Whitehall, and offer superior opportunities for scrutiny and cross-examination of regional decisions in Parliament." It followed from the 2004rejection by voters in the North East of England of a proposed electedregional assembly.
InLondon, the post of Minister for London had first been established by the thenConservative government in 1994.
TheGovernance of BritainGreen Paper, published in July 2007, provided the following objectives for regional ministers:[1]
It also stated:[10]
There are a range of functions that Regional Ministers will undertake. These are mostly clustered around the responsibilities of theGovernment Offices and theRegional Development Agencies, particularly in relation to economic development. Regional Ministers will be able to take questions in Parliament on the work of regional bodies, and on regional strategies. Regional ministers will be a visible representative of their area – they will take a key role in bringing together local services and different arms of government at important times for the region, whether in bidding for or hosting major sporting occasions (e.g. theCommonwealth Games); or when a region faces difficult challenges (e.g. thesevere flooding afflicting Yorkshire and the Humber, and the East and West Midlands in June 2007).
The establishment of the regional minister posts was opposed by the Conservativeopposition. In a 2009 debate on the setting up ofregional Select Committees ofParliament, to which the regional ministers report, the ShadowLeader of the House,Alan Duncan, said:[11]
The documentThe Governance of Britain says that regional Ministers, who are supposedly to be held to account by these Select Committees, do all sorts of important things. It sets out their responsibilities, stating that they "represent", "facilitate", "champion" and again "represent" various things in the document. But do they decide anything? No, they do not. These Ministers are fictitious Ministers, supposedly joining up the various tentacles of government and somehow making a Minister in one Department tie his or her decisions in with those of a Minister in another Department. The people who should be held to account, if that is necessary, are the Ministers who take those decisions, not these supposed facilitators who have no executive responsibility whatever. They are faux Ministers – false Ministers – and they do not really exist as Ministers at all.
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| Name | Portrait | Title | Concurrent Office | Term start | Term end | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tessa Jowell |  | Minister for London | Paymaster General | 28 June 2007 | 3 October 2008 | |
| Tony McNulty |  | Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform | 3 October 2008 | 5 June 2009 | ||
| Tessa Jowell | | Paymaster General | 5 June 2009 | 11 May 2010 | ||
| Name | Portrait | Title | Concurrent Office | Term start | Term end | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Shaw |  | Minister of State for theSouth East | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Marine, Landscape and Rural Affairs | 28 June 2007 | 5 October 2008 | |
| Minister of State for Disabled People[a] | 5 October 2008 | 11 May 2010 | ||||
| Name | Portrait | Title | Concurrent Office | Term start | Term end | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Bradshaw |  | Minister of State for theSouth West | Minister of State for Health | 28 June 2007 | 5 June 2009 | |
| Jim Knight |  | Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform | 5 June 2009 | 11 May 2010 | ||
| Name | Portrait | Title | Concurrent Office | Term start | Term end | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liam Byrne |  | Minister of State for theWest Midlands | Minister of State for Borders and Immigration | 28 June 2007 | 5 October 2008 | |
| Ian Austin |  | Assistant Government Whip | 5 October 2008 | 9 June 2009 | ||
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government | 9 June 2009 | 11 May 2010 | ||||
| Name | Portrait | Title | Concurrent Office | Term start | Term end | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phil Woolas |  | Minister of State for theNorth West | Minister of State for Local Government | 28 June 2007 | 4 October 2008 | |
| Minister of State for the Treasury | 4 October 2008 | 11 May 2010 | ||||
| Name | Portrait | Title | Concurrent Office | Term start | Term end | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Brown |  | Minister of State for theNorth East | Deputy Chief Whip of the Government | 28 June 2007 | 3 October 2008 | |
| Chief Whip of the House of Commons | 4 October 2008 | 11 May 2010 | ||||
| Name | Portrait | Title | Concurrent Office | Term start | Term end | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caroline Flint |  | Minister of State forYorkshire and the Humber | Minister of State for Employment | 28 June 2007 | 24 January 2008 | |
| Rosie Winterton |  | Minister of State for Work and Pensions | 24 January 2008 | 5 June 2009 | ||
| Minister of State for Local Government | 5 June 2009 | 11 May 2010 | ||||
| Name | Portrait | Title | Concurrent Office | Term start | Term end | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gillian Merron |  | Minister of State for theEast Midlands | Parliamentary Secretary to theCabinet Office | 28 June 2007 | 24 January 2008 | |
| Phil Hope |  | 24 January 2008 | 5 October 2008 | |||
| Minister of State for Care Services | 5 October 2008 | 11 May 2010 | ||||
| Name | Portrait | Title | Concurrent Office | Term start | Term end | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbara Follett |  | Minister of State for theEast | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions | 28 June 2007 | 24 November 2007 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equality | 24 November 2007 | 4 October 2008 | ||||
| Minister for Culture and Tourism | 4 October 2008 | 22 September 2009 | ||||
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government | 22 September 2009 | 11 May 2010 | ||||
In July 2011,Greg Clark was appointed to the new role of Minister for Cities,[4][12] which from July 2014 was combined withMinister for Universities and Science.[13] The role was abolished upon Clark's promotion toSecretary of State for Communities and Local Government in May 2015.[14]
In January 2014, the post ofMinister for Portsmouth was created, with the aim to help support the city's shipbuilding industry.[5] The role was initially held byMichael Fallon until the appointment ofMatthew Hancock in July 2014,[15] who was replaced byMark Francois in May 2015.[16]
In April 2014, Labour leaderEd Miliband proposed the reintroduction of regional ministers, corresponding to the nine English regions, who would sit on a new regional committee based at theCabinet Office.[17]
In May 2015,James Wharton was appointed to the new role of Minister for theNorthern Powerhouse, focusing on wider devolution to English "core cities" includingManchester,Leeds,Sheffield,Liverpool, andNewcastle.[6]
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