Dismantling BEIS

Under the guise of “Making Government Deliver for the British People”, a paper published on 7 February 2023 describes the dismantling of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and its replacement with three new departments:

• Department for Energy Security (DES)

• Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)

• Department for Business and Trade (DBT)

Although the current Secretary of State for BEIS, Grant Shapps, will continue as the Secretary of State for DES, Rishi Sunak has appointed Michelle Donelan as Secretary of State for DSIT and Equalities Minister, Kemi Badenoch as Secretary of State for DBT.

And although the new departments will largely be led by current BEIS staff, there appears to be no indication of how many new staff will be employed. Neither is there an indication of how many new offices will need to be kitted out, how many new brass/stainless steel/stone plaques will need to be ordered nor how much new stationery will be ordered.

Given that the new departments will be carrying out the same activities as already covered by BEIS, and probably by the same staff as existing (plus the inevitable staff creep), what is the point of this unnecessary restructuring?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-government-deliver-for-the-british-people/making-government-deliver-for-the-british-people-html