Ministers
First Secretary of State, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills, Lord President of the Council
Overall responsibility for Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Privy Council. Working part of time in Cabinet Office as First Secretary of State.
Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills
Deputises for Secretary of State on departmental business, particular focus on Industrial Activism – New Industry, New Jobs.
Minister for Digital Britain
Responsible for Digital Britain.
Minister for Science and Innovation (jointly with the Ministry of Defence)
Responsible for innovation, Technology Strategy Board, science policy and wealth creation from science, Research Councils, Foresight programme – science and society issues, Space, National Measurement Office, Design Council, National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), Energy Technologies Institute, Commission for Environmental Markets and Economic Performance, British Standards Institution, UK Accreditation Service, Life Sciences (including Office for Life Sciences and pharmaceutical sector), low carbon economy.
Minister of State for Higher Education and Intellectual Property
Responsible for building strong relationships across the higher education sector, higher education teaching quality, Higher Education Strategy, Research Assessment Exercise and Research Excellence Framework in higher education, High Level Skills (seeking to increase significantly the number of people qualified to Level 4 (or university level skills) and above), voluntary giving (universities raising independent revenue from donors), student support policy – student grants and loans, all student loans issues, sponsorship of Higher Education Funding Council for England and Student Loans Company, intellectual property issues and the Intellectual Property Office.
Minister for Regional Economic Development and Coordination (jointly with the Department for Communities and Local Government)
Responsible for strengthening regional economies (including Grants for Business Investment), Regional Development Agencies and sub-national implementation, Solutions for Business (business support simplification).
Minister for Trade, Investment and Small Business (jointly with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office)
Responsible for UK Trade & Investment (reporting jointly to the Business Secretary and Foreign Secretary), advising the Secretary of State and the Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills on overall business policy, working on specific business issues alongside the Minister for Business and Regulatory Reform, small business, the Export Credits Guarantee Department, Public Service Reform, Trade policy, Europe, Competitiveness, enterprise, growth & business investment, general oversight of Shareholder Executive and its portfolios, and Business Council for Britain.
Minister for Further Education, Skills, Apprenticeships and Consumer Affairs (jointly with the Department for Children, Schools and Families)
Responsible for further education, apprenticeships, Adult Skills Agenda, engaging employers in skills including Train to Gain, National Skills Academies, Sector Skills Councils, UK Commission for Employment and Skills, LSC sponsorship, Skills Funding Agency set-up, competition policy, consumer affairs.
Minister for Business and Regulatory Reform
Responsible for business sectors (aerospace; marine and defence, automotive; chemicals; construction; manufacturing, materials and engineering; retail; services), Better Regulation Executive, better regulation within BIS, Olympic legacy, sustainable development and regulation including waste electrical and electronic equipment issues, Corporate Social Responsibility, third sector strategy and issues, corporate governance, Companies Act, Companies House, Insolvency Service (including companies investigations), export control.
Minister for Postal Affairs and Employment Relations
Responsible for postal affairs: Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd, encouraging employer support for apprenticeships, student issues, employment relations, ACAS.
