Department for Communities and Local Government

Department for Communities and Local Government
Logo of the Department for Communities and Local Government
Department overview
Formed	May 2006
Jurisdiction	England
Headquarters	Eland House London, England
Minister responsible	The Rt Hon. Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
Website
Department for Communities and Local Government

United Kingdom

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The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is the UK Government department for communities and local government in England. It was established in May 2006 and is the successor to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, established in 2001. Its headquarters is located at Eland House, London.

There are corresponding departments in the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Executive, responsible for communities and local government in their respective jurisdictions.

Ministers

The Communities and Local Government ministers are as follows: ^[1]

Minister		Rank	Portfolio
	The Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP	Secretary of State	Overall responsibility
	The Rt Hon Greg Clark MP	Minister of State	Decentralisation, planning policy, cities
	The Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP	Minister of State	Housing, local government, regeneration
	Andrew Stunell OBE MP	Parliamentary Under Secretary of State	Community cohesion
	Bob Neill MP	Parliamentary Under Secretary of State	Fire and resilience
	Baroness Hanham CBE	Parliamentary Under Secretary of State	Productivity, transparency, Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre

Key		Conservative
		Liberal Democrat

Greg Clark works jointly between the department and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.^[2]

The Permanent Secretary is Sir Bob Kerslake who took up his post on 1 November 2010.^[3]

Background

DCLG was formed in July 2001 as part of the Cabinet Office with the title Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), headed by the then Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott. In May 2002 the ODPM became a separate department after absorbing the local government and regions portfolios from the defunct Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions. The ODPM was criticised in some quarters for adding little value and the Environmental Audit Committee had reported negatively on the department in the past.^[4][5] During the 5 May 2006 reshuffle of Tony Blair's government, it was renamed and Ruth Kelly became the first Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

Responsibilities

Eland House, the department's headquarters

The department is responsible for UK Government policy in the following areas, mainly in England:^[6]

• building regulations
• community cohesion
• decentralisation
• fire services and resilience
• housing
• local government
• planning
• race equality
• the Thames Gateway
• urban regeneration

On its creation it also assumed the community policy function of the Home Office. Ministers have since established the Commission on Integration and Cohesion, and the now separate Government Equalities Office.

Executive agencies

• Fire Service College
• Planning Inspectorate
• Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre

The department was previously responsible for Ordnance Survey, however on 18 July 2011 it was transferred to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.^[7]

Non-departmental public bodies

In January 2007, Ruth Kelly announced proposals to bring together the delivery functions of the Housing Corporation, English Partnerships and parts of the Department for Communities and Local Government to form a new unified housing and regeneration agency, the Homes and Communities Agency. Initially announced as Communities England, it became operational in December 2008. This also includes the Academy for Sustainable Communities. 2008 was also the year that the department along with the Local Government Association produced the National Improvement and Efficiency Strategy ^[8] which led to the creation of 9 Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPs) with devolved funding of £185m to drive sector led improvement for councils.

Devolution

Its main counterparts in the devolved nations of the UK are as follows.

Scotland

Northern Ireland

• Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister (civil resilience, community cohesion, race relations)
• Department of the Environment (local government, planning)
• Department of Finance and Personnel (building regulations)
• Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (fire services)
• Department for Social Development (housing, urban regeneration)

Wales

See also

• United Kingdom budget
• Council house
• Energy efficiency in British housing
• Homes and Communities Agency
• English Partnerships
• Housing Corporation
• Housing estate
• Social Exclusion Task Force
• Local Government Association
• Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPs)

References

1. ^ Cabinet Office List of Government Departments and Ministers: Department for Communities and Local Government
2. ^ Ministers: Greg Clark MP
3. ^ New Permanent Secretary for Communities and Local Government
4. ^ http://www.building.co.uk/news/environmental-report-slams-odpm-over-sustainable-code/3065079.article
5. ^ Knight, Sam (5 May 2006). "Prescott loses his dream home the megadepartment". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article713811.ece. 
6. ^ Cabinet Office List of Ministerial Responsibilities, July 2010
7. ^ Ordnance Survey becomes part of Department for Business Innovation and Skills
8. ^ National Improvement and Efficiency Strategy

External links

• Communities and Local Government
• Local Government Channel
• Communities UK YouTube channel

Coordinates: 51°29′53″N 0°08′33″W / 51.4981°N 0.1424°W / 51.4981; -0.1424