United Kingdom
Secretary of State
for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
Incumbent
Michael Gove
since 25 October 2022
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
StyleLevelling Up Secretary
(informal)
The Right Honourable
(within the UK and Commonwealth)
TypeMinister of the Crown
StatusSecretary of State
Member of
Reports toThe Prime Minister
SeatWestminster
NominatorThe Prime Minister
AppointerThe Monarch
(on the advice of the Prime Minister)
Term lengthAt His Majesty's Pleasure
Formation
  • 5 May 2005:
    (as Minister of State for Communities and Local Government)
  • 18 September 2021:
    (as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
First holderDavid Miliband
(as Minister of State for Communities and Local Government)
DeputyMinister of State for Housing, Planning and Building Safety
Salary£159,038 per annum (2022)[1]
(including £86,584 MP salary)[2]
Websitewww.communities.gov.uk

The secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, also referred to as the levelling up secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, and Cabinet minister, responsible for the overall leadership and strategic direction of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).[3][4] They are responsible for local government in England.

The office holder works alongside the other ministers in the department. The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities.

The position is currently held by Michael Gove since 25 October 2022, having previously held the position from September 2021 to July 2022 under Boris Johnson before being dismissed and eventually being reappointed by Rishi Sunak in October 2022.[5]

History

The Department of 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.[6]

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.[citation needed]

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".[7]

Responsibilities

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Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

List of secretaries of state and ministers

Minister of State for Communities and Local Government[edit]

Minister of State Term of office Party Ministry
David Miliband[9]
MP for South Shields 		5 May
2005 		5 May
2006 		Labour Blair III

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government[edit]

Secretary of State Term of office Party Ministry
Ruth Kelly[10]
MP for Bolton West 		6 May
2006 		28 June
2007 		Labour Blair III
Hazel Blears[11]
MP for Salford 		28 June
2007 		5 June
2009 		Labour Brown
John Denham[12]
MP for Southampton Itchen 		5 June
2009 		11 May
2010 		Labour
Eric Pickles[13]
MP for Brentwood and Ongar 		12 May
2010 		11 May
2015 		Conservative Cameron–Clegg
(Con.–L.D.)
Greg Clark[14]
MP for Tunbridge Wells 		11 May
2015 		14 July
2016 		Conservative Cameron II
Sajid Javid[15]
MP for Bromsgrove 		14 July
2016 		8 January
2018 		Conservative May I
May II

Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government[edit]

Secretary of State Term of office Party Ministry
Sajid Javid[15]
MP for Bromsgrove 		8 January
2018 		30 April
2018 		Conservative May II
James Brokenshire[16]
MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup 		30 April
2018 		24 July
2019 		Conservative
Robert Jenrick[17]
MP for Newark 		24 July
2019 		15 September
2021 		Conservative Johnson I
Johnson II
Michael Gove[18]
MP for Surrey Heath 		15 September
2021 		18 September
2021 		Conservative

Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities[edit]

Secretary of State Term of office Party Ministry
Michael Gove[7]
MP for Surrey Heath 		18 September
2021 		6 July
2022 		Conservative Johnson II
Greg Clark[19]
MP for Tunbridge Wells 		7 July
2022 		6 September
2022 		Conservative
Simon Clarke[20]
MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland 		6 September
2022 		25 October
2022 		Conservative Truss
Michael Gove
MP for Surrey Heath 		25 October
2022 		Incumbent Conservative Sunak

Timeline of secretaries of state

Simon ClarkeMichael GoveMichael GoveRobert JenrickJames BrokenshireSajid JavidSajid JavidGreg ClarkEric PicklesJohn DenhamHazel BlearsRuth Kelly

References

  1. ^ "Salaries of Members of His Majesty's Government – Financial Year 2022–23" (PDF). 15 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Pay and expenses for MPs". parliament.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government". gov.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  4. ^ Stewart, Heather; Mason, Rowena; Elgot, Jessica (6 October 2021). "Michael Gove to push homebuilding in the north of England". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Rishi Sunak - live updates: Hunt remains chancellor; Mordaunt in cabinet; Rees-Mogg among raft of departures". Sky News. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  6. ^ Knight, Sam (5 May 2006). "Prescott loses his dream home: the mega department". The Times. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  7. ^ a b Cordon, Gavin (18 September 2021). "Michael Gove heads rebranded 'Department for Levelling Up'". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  8. ^ "The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  9. ^ "Rt Hon David Miliband". UK Parliament. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  10. ^ "Ruth Kelly". UK Parliament. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Rt Hon Hazel Blears". UK Parliament. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  12. ^ "Rt Hon John Denham". UK Parliament. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  13. ^ "Rt Hon Sir Eric Pickles". UK Parliament. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  14. ^ "Rt Hon Greg Clark MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  15. ^ a b "Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  16. ^ "Sajid Javid announced as new Home Secretary after Amber Rudd's resignation". Sky News. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  17. ^ "Robert Jenrick replaces James Brokenshire as housing secretary". Inside Housing. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  18. ^ "Michael Gove replaces Robert Jenrick as housing secretary". Inside Housing. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  19. ^ "The Rt Hon Greg Clark MP @GregClarkMP has been appointed Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities". Twitter.com. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  20. ^ "The Rt Hon Simon Clarke MP @SimonClarkeMP has been appointed Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities @luhc". Twitter. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
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