The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Nature and Rural Affairs, formerly the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Nature Recovery and the Domestic Environment, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Natural Environment and Land Use and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Nature, is a junior ministerial position in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The incumbent holder is Member of Parliament (MP) Jenny Riddell-Carpenter.
History
Nature Recovery and the Domestic Environment Conservative MP David Rutley was the first holder of the position, being appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Nature Recovery and the Domestic Environment on 22 May 2018 in the second May ministry. He briefly served in the position until 19 July 2018, and then the position was vacant for the rest of May's premiership.
Following the resignation of Amber Rudd as Work and Pensions Secretary, Thérèse Coffey was appointed to succeed her. Rebecca Pow was appointed to succeed Coffey under Prime Minister Boris Johnson on 10 September 2019, but with the portfolio for Nature Recovery and the Domestic Environment and thus the position was held once more.
Pow served in the position in both the first Johnson ministry and second Johnson ministry before she resigned during the July 2022 government crisis. Steve Double was appointed as her successor on 8 July 2022, serving until the formation of the Truss ministry.
Natural Environment and Land Use Trudy Harrison was appointed the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Natural Environment and Land Use on 28 October 2022 in the Sunak ministry, having previously held the position of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment under Liz Truss. She resigned from the position in the November 2023 British cabinet reshuffle.
Nature Pow returned to the position in the November 2023 British cabinet reshuffle as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Nature under Rishi Sunak, serving until the 2024 general election.
After the defeat of the Conservative party in the 2024 general election, Labour MP Mary Creagh was appointed to the position under Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Responsibilities
Current
Planning and Land Use Protected landscapes Rural communities Climate adaptation International biodiversity Access to nature Tree planting and forestry Green finance Domestic biodiversity Sponsorship of Natural England, Forestry Commission, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)
List of ministers Name PortraitTerm of office Political partyP.M. E.Sec.Minister of State for EnvironmentRodney Elton, 2nd Baron Elton27 March 198510 September 1986ConservativeThatcherJenkinBakerRidleyWilliam Waldegrave10 September 1986 13 June 1987John Ganzoni13 June 198710 January 1988Malcolm Sinclair, 20th Earl of Caithness10 January 198825 July 1988Michael Howard25 July 198824 July 1989Minister of State for Environment and CountrysideDavid Trippier24 July 198913 April 1992ConservativeThatcherPattenMajorHeseltineDavid Maclean14 April 199227 May 1993HowardTim Yeo27 May 19936 January 1994GummerRobert Atkins7 January 19945 July 1995Robert Shirley, 13th Earl Ferrers6 July 19952 May 1997Minister of State for EnvironmentMichael Meacher2 May 199713 June 2003LabourBlairPrescottBeckettElliot Morley13 June 2003May 2005Minister of State for Climate Change and the EnvironmentElliot MorleyMay 20058 May 2006LabourBlairBeckettIan Pearson8 May 200628 June 2007MilibandMinister of State for the EnvironmentPhil Woolas28 June 20074 October 2008LabourBrownBennPhilip Hunt, Baron Hunt of Kings Heath5 October 200811 May 2010Labour Co-opParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Resource Management, the Local Environment and Environmental ScienceOliver Eden, 8th Baron Henley11 May 201016 September 2011ConservativeCameronSpelmanJohn Taylor, Baron Taylor of Holbeach16 September 20114 September 2012Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Natural Environment and ScienceRupert Ponsonby, 7th Baron de Mauley6 September 20127 May 2015ConservativeCameronPatersonTrussParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment and Rural Life OpportunitiesThérèse Coffey17 July 201622 May 2018ConservativeMayLeadsomGoveDavid Rutley22 May 201819 July 2018Thérèse Coffey19 July 201825 July 2019Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Nature Recovery and the Domestic Environment Rebecca Pow 10 September 2019 7 July 2022Conservative Johnson VilliersEusticeSteve Double8 July 20228 September 2022Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Natural Environment and Land UseTrudy Harrison8 September 202213 November 2023ConservativeTrussSunakJayawardenaCoffeyParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for NatureRebecca Pow14 November 20235 July 2024ConservativeSunakBarclayMary Creagh18 July 202422 July 2026LabourStarmerReedReynoldsParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Nature and Rural AffairsJenny Riddell-Carpenter21 July 2026IncumbentLabourBurnhamEagle
See also
Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Water and Rural Growth
References