Department for Communities and Local Government

Department for Communities and
Local Government
Department overview
Formed May 2006
Jurisdiction England
Headquarters 2 Marsham Street, London, England
Annual budget £28.1 billion (current) & £3.5 billion (capital) for 2011-12 [1]
Minister responsible
Department executive
Website www.gov.uk/dclg
United Kingdom
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The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is the UK Government department for communities and local government in England. It was established in May 2006 and is the successor to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, established in 2001. Its headquarters is located at 2 Marsham Street, London.

There are corresponding departments in the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive, responsible for communities and local government in their respective jurisdictions.

Ministers

The Communities and Local Government ministers are as follows:[2]

Minister Rank Portfolio
The Rt Hon. Sajid Javid MP Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
 Overall leadership of the department, Troubled Families
Alok Sharma MP Minister of State for Housing and Planning
 Housing, Ebbsfleet, planning policy, neighbourhood planning, lead minister on the Housing Bill, planning casework, London
Marcus Jones MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Local government policy, local government finance, homelessness, community rights high streets, town centres and markets, welfare reform, supporting minister on the Housing Bill, planning casework
Andrew Percy MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Northern Powerhouse, city deals, European Regional Development Fund, Enterprise Zones and Local Enterprise Partnerships, building regulations, supporting minister on the Devolution Bill, planning casework
The Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Departmental business in the House of Lords, local government finance and policy, integration and faith, High Speed Rail 2 (HS2), Travellers, supporting the Secretary of State on City Deals and Troubled Families, women and equalities (supporting the Department for Education in the House of Lords)

As well as working at the Department for Communities and Local Government, Richard Harrington works jointly at the Home Office and the Department for International Development.

The Permanent Secretary is Melanie Dawes who took up her post on 1 March 2015.[3]

Henry Smith was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on 26 May 2015.[4]

Background

DCLG was formed in July 2001 as part of the Cabinet Office with the title Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), headed by the then Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott. In May 2002 the ODPM became a separate department after absorbing the local government and regions portfolios from the defunct Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions. The ODPM was criticised in some quarters for adding little value and the Environmental Audit Committee had reported negatively on the department in the past.[5][6] During the 5 May 2006 reshuffle of Tony Blair's government, it was renamed and Ruth Kelly became the first Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

Responsibilities

The department is responsible for UK Government policy in the following areas, mainly in England:[7]

On its creation it also assumed the community policy function of the Home Office. Ministers have since established the Commission on Integration and Cohesion, and the now separate Government Equalities Office.

Executive agencies

The department also was previously responsible for two other agencies. On 18 July 2011 Ordnance Survey was transferred to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills[8] and on 28 February 2013 the Fire Service College was sold to Capita.[9]

Non-departmental public bodies

In January 2007, Ruth Kelly announced proposals to bring together the delivery functions of the Housing Corporation, English Partnerships and parts of the Department for Communities and Local Government to form a new unified housing and regeneration agency, the Homes and Communities Agency. Initially announced as Communities England, it became operational in December 2008. This also includes the Academy for Sustainable Communities. 2008 was also the year that the department along with the Local Government Association produced the National Improvement and Efficiency Strategy [10] which led to the creation of 9 Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPs) with devolved funding of £185m to drive sector led improvement for councils.

Devolution

Its main counterparts in the devolved nations of the UK are as follows.

Scotland

Northern Ireland

Wales

See also

References

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