The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has changed its name to reflect the government’s levelling up agenda.
The department’s name is still a mouthful and a nightmare for journalists trying to keep to tight word counts, though.
It will now be called the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities or LUHC.
The change comes as former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane was appointed as the new head of the levelling up taskforce and just days after Michael Gove replaced Robert Jenrick as Housing Secretary.
Gove will coordinate efforts across departments to support levelling up across the UK.
He will be supported in the department by new Minister of State Kemi Badenoch and Neil O’Brien, who has been appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State.
It has also been confirmed that Christopher Pincher will remain as Housing Minister.
Gove said: “I’m thrilled that the PM has asked me to lead the ;evelling up agenda, the defining mission of this government.
“With a superb team of ministers and officials in a new department, our relentless focus will be on delivering for those overlooked families and undervalued communities across the United Kingdom.
“We have a unique opportunity to make a real difference to people’s lives.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson added: “This government is committed to uniting and levelling up every part of the UK and I am determined that as we build back better from the pandemic we are geared up with the teams and expertise to deliver on that promise.”
You can view the full announcement here.
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Chronic shortage of stock, govt's response is a demotion and useless renaming of the body in charge. FML
Awful name and, as Aidan says above, a demotion for housing only a few years after it finally got the promotion and prominence it deserved at Cabinet.
Worse still, levelling up is a meaningless slogan that no-one seems to be able to quantify. The latest Johnsonian headline-grabber that actually has no substance. The name change clearly states levelling up - whatever that means - will be more important to Gove than housing, which goes against the idea that fixing the cladding crisis will be his main focus.
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