Department of Trade and Industry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Department of Trade and Industry (disambiguation).

The Department of Trade and Industry is a United Kingdom government department.

The department was first formed in 1970 with the merger of the Board of Trade and the Ministry of Technology, creating a new cabinet post of Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. The new department also took over the Department of Employment's former responsibilities for monopolies and mergers. In January of 1974, the department's responsibilities for energy production were transferred to a newly created UK Department of Energy. Later the same year, following a Labour Party victory in the general election, the department was split into Department of Trade, Department of Industry and the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection.

In 1983 the departments of Department of Trade and the Department of Industry were reunited. The Department of Energy was re-merged back into the DTI in 1992, but various media-related functions transferred to the Department for National Heritage. In any case as of 2006 DTI sets energy policy of the United Kingdom.

After the 2005 general election the DTI was renamed to the Department for Productivity, Energy and Industry [1], but the name reverted to Department of Trade and Industry less than a week later [2], after widespread derision, including some from the Confederation of British Industry.

UK Trade and Investment [3]is a joint DTI/Foreign & Commonwealth organisation to help UK companies do business abroad and assist overseas investors to the UK.