Rachel Maclean appointed as new Housing Minister
Following a cabinet reshuffle, Rachel Maclean, the MP for Redditch, has been appointed as a Minister of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak undertook a cabinet reshuffle yesterday, 7 February 2023, following a reorganisation an creation of four new departments to 'ensure the whole of government is geared up to deliver for the British people'.
The four new government departments announced yesterday are:
- Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
- Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
- Department for Business and Trade
- A 're-focused' Department for Culture, Media and Sport
As part of the reshuffle, Lucy Frazer, the former Minister for Housing and Planning has been promoted to Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Frazer was Housing Minister for less than four months, but had positive engagement with the industry in that time, including at the launch of the New Homes Ombudsman Service in Westminster last autumn.
Rachel Maclean, the MP for Redditch, has been appointed as a Minister of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Maclean’s responsibilities have not yet been confirmed, but as there seem to be no other changes to the rest of the ministerial team at DLUHC, it is likely she will be in charge of the housing and planning portfolio.
Maclean, who has been an MP since the 2017 general election, has previously held a number of junior ministerial positions including at HM Treasury and the Department for Transport.
While Maclean has been relatively quiet on housing issues in Parliament so far, in a debate on Levelling Up she stated “it is right that we always seek to balance the two potentially competing demands of building the new homes our communities and young people need, and of seeking to preserve the reason why people live here in the first place, which is the unique and beautiful character of the Worcestershire environment”.
Elsewhere, Maclean has been very active on skills related issues and founded a charity working with schools to help young people develop skills that businesses look for in their employees.
Image: Rachel Maclean. (Image: Rachel Maclean.)