The secretary of state for housing, communities and local government is a senior minister in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). As a Cabinet-level position, the office holder is responsible for housing, planning, and local government policy in England.
The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow secretary of state for housing, communities and local government.
History The Department for Communities and Local Government was created in 2006 by then British prime minister Tony Blair to replace John Prescott's Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which had taken on the local government and regions portfolios from the defunct Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions in 2002.
The secretary of state took over the responsibilities of the minister of state for communities and local government. This post, within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, was created in 2005, on the transfer of several functions from the deputy prime minister himself.
In 2018 the position was incorporated as a corporation sole.
Then prime minister Boris Johnson renamed the position Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and gave the secretary and the department responsibility for carrying out the promise in the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto of "levelling up". Labour prime minister Keir Starmer renamed the department as the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 8 July 2024, retiring the levelling up moniker.
Responsibilities According to the UK government, the secretary of state has overall strategic oversight of the department’s business and policy in areas in England including:
housing and planning services for people experiencing homelessness local government communities and faith democracy and elections public appointments planning casework corporate functions
List of secretaries of state Secretary of State for Local Government and the Regions Minister Term of office Party Ministry John Prescott 2002 2006 Labour Blair IIBlair IIISecretary of State for Communities and Local Government Secretary of State Term of office Party Ministry Ruth Kelly 2006 2007 Labour Blair III Hazel Blears 2007 2009 Labour Brown John Denham 2009 2010 Labour Eric Pickles 2010 2015 Conservative Cameron–Clegg Greg Clark 2015 2016 Conservative Cameron II Sajid Javid 2016 2018 Conservative May I May IISecretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary of State Term of office Party Ministry Sajid Javid 2018 2018 Conservative May II James Brokenshire 2018 2019 Conservative Robert Jenrick 2019 2021 Conservative Johnson I Johnson IISecretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary of State Term of office Party Ministry Michael Gove 2021 2022 Conservative Johnson II Greg Clark 2022 2022 Conservative Simon Clarke 2022 2022 Conservative Truss Michael Gove 2022 2024 Conservative SunakSecretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary of State Term of office Party Ministry Angela Rayner 2024 2025 Labour Starmer Steve Reed 2025 2026 Labour Angela Rayner 2026 Incumbent Labour Burnham
Timeline of secretaries of state
References
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