Secretary of State for the Environment

Last updated
Department of the Environment
Department overview
Formed15 October 1970
Preceding agencies
Dissolved2 May 1997
Superseding agency
JurisdictionUnited Kingdom
Headquarters London, England, UK

The secretary of state for the environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment (DoE). Today, its responsibilities are carried out by the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs and the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government. The post was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Building and Works on 15 October 1970. Thus it managed a mixed portfolio of issues: housing and planning, local government, public buildings, environmental protection and, initially, transport – James Callaghan gave transport its own department again in 1976. It has been asserted that during the Thatcher government the DoE led the drive towards centralism, and the undermining of local government. [1] Particularly, the concept of 'inner cities policy', often involving centrally negotiated public-private partnerships and centrally appointed development corporations, which moved control of many urban areas to the centre, and away from their, often left-wing, local authorities. [1] The department was based in Marsham Towers, three separate tower blocks built for the separate pre-merger ministries, in Westminster. [2]

In 1997, when Labour came to power, the DoE was merged with the Department of Transport to form the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR), thus, essentially, restoring the DoE to its initial 1970 portfolio. The titular mention of 'the Regions' referred to the government's pledge to create regional government. In the wake of the 2001 foot and mouth crisis, the environmental protection elements of the DETR were split of and merged with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), to form the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Meanwhile, the transport, housing and planning, and local and regional government aspects went to a new Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR). A year later the DTLR also split, with transport getting its own department and the rest going to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

List of environment secretaries

Secretary of State for the Environment [3] [4]
PortraitName
(Birth–Death)
Term of officePartyMinistry
No image.svg The Right Honourable
Peter Walker
MBE

MP for Worcester
(1932–2010)
15 October
1970
5 November
1972
Conservative Heath
Geoffrey Rippon (1970).jpg The Right Honourable
Geoffrey Rippon
QC

MP for Hexham
(1924–1997)
5 November
1972
4 March
1974
Conservative
Charles-Anthony-Raven-Crosland (cropped).jpg The Right Honourable
Anthony Crosland

MP for Great Grimsby
(1918–1977)
5 March
1974
8 April
1976
Labour Wilson
(III & IV)
No image.svg The Right Honourable
Peter Shore

MP for Stepney and Poplar
(1924–2001)
8 April
1976
4 May
1979
Labour Callaghan
Lord Heseltine (6969083278).jpg The Right Honourable
Michael Heseltine

MP for Henley
(born 1933)
5 May
1979
6 January
1983
Conservative Thatcher I
Official portrait of Lord King of Bridgwater crop 2.jpg The Right Honourable
Tom King

MP for Bridgwater
(born 1933)
6 January
1983
11 June
1983
Conservative
No image.svg The Right Honourable
Patrick Jenkin

MP for Wanstead and Woodford
(1926–2016)
11 June
1983
2 September
1985
Conservative Thatcher II
Official portrait of Lord Baker of Dorking crop 2.jpg The Right Honourable
Kenneth Baker

MP for Mole Valley
(born 1934)
2 September
1985
21 May
1986
Conservative
No image.svg The Right Honourable
Nicholas Ridley

MP for Cirencester and Tewkesbury
(1929–1993)
21 May
1986
24 July
1989
Conservative
Thatcher III
Official portrait of Lord Patten of Barnes crop 2.jpg The Right Honourable
Chris Patten

MP for Bath
(born 1944)
24 July
1989
28 November
1990
Conservative
Lord Heseltine (6969083278).jpg The Right Honourable
Michael Heseltine

MP for Henley
(born 1933)
28 November
1990
11 April
1992
Conservative Major I
Official portrait of Lord Howard of Lympne crop 2, 2023.jpg The Right Honourable
Michael Howard
QC

MP for Folkestone and Hythe
(born 1941)
11 April
1992
27 May
1993
Conservative Major II
Official portrait of Lord Deben crop 2.jpg The Right Honourable
John Gummer

MP for Suffolk Coastal
(born 1939)
27 May
1993
2 May
1997
Conservative

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs</span> Ministerial department of the UK Government

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the entire United Kingdom. Concordats set out agreed frameworks for co operation, between it and the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive, which have devolved responsibilities for these matters in their respective nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secretary of State for Transport</span> Member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom

The secretary of state for transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions</span>

The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions was a United Kingdom Cabinet position created in 1997, with responsibility for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR). The position and department were created for John Prescott by merging the positions and responsibilities of the Secretary of State for Environment, the Secretary of State for Transport and some other functions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservative government, 1957–1964</span>

The Conservative government of the United Kingdom that began in 1957 and ended in 1964 consisted of three ministries: the first Macmillan ministry, second Macmillan ministry, and then the Douglas-Home ministry. They were respectively led by Harold Macmillan and Sir Alec Douglas-Home, who were appointed by Queen Elizabeth II.

The Cabinet of Malaysia is the executive branch of the Government of Malaysia. Led by the Prime Minister, the cabinet is a council of ministers who are accountable collectively to the Parliament. According to the Article 43 of the Federal Constitution, members of the Cabinet can only be selected from members of either houses of Parliament. Formally, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints all Ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister. The constitution is amended by repealing the Clause (8) of Article 43, enabling a person who is a member of State Legislative Assembly to continue to serve even while serving as a minister or deputy minister in the cabinet. Ministers other than the Prime Minister shall hold office during the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, unless the appointment of any Minister shall have been revoked by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the Prime Minister but any Minister may resign from office. In practice, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is obliged to follow the advice of the Prime Minister on the appointment and dismissal of ministers.

Best Value was government policy in the United Kingdom affecting the provision of public services in England. In Wales, Best Value is known as the Wales Programme for Improvement. A statutory duty of Best Value also applies in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government</span> Ministerial department of the UK Government

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for housing, 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. The department shares its headquarters building, at 2 Marsham Street in London, with the Home Office.

The New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) was a department of the New South Wales Government, responsible for effective and sustainable planning to support the growth in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It made plans based on evidence for the state's cities and regions, working with the community, business and local government to create places for people in NSW to live, work and spend their leisure time, while ensuring good access to transport and other services like shops and restaurants. The department was also responsible for the evidence-based assessment of state significant development applications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2 Marsham Street</span> Office building in London, England

2 Marsham Street is an office building on Marsham Street in the City of Westminster, London, and headquarters of the Home Office and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, departments of the British Government, since March 2005. Before this date the Home Office was located at 50 Queen Anne's Gate. It has also housed the headquarters of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs since 2018.

The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Colombia is composed of the most senior appointed politicians of the executive branch of the Government of Colombia. Members of the Cabinet are generally the heads of a Ministry Department. The existence of the Cabinet dates back to the first President Simon Bolivar. These members were appointed in order to advise the President and are therefore required to assist him in his duties as stated by the Colombian Constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning</span> Dutch government ministry

The Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning is a Dutch government ministry. It was re-established in 2024 after having been disbanded in 2010. The current minister is Mona Keijzer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secretary for Environment and Ecology</span>

The Secretary for Environment and Ecology of the Hong Kong Government is responsible for environment protection policy in Hong Kong. The position was created most recently in 2007 as the Secretary for the Environment to replace portions of the previous portfolio of Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works.

The list that follows is the Liberal Democrats Frontbench Team/Shadow Cabinet led by Charles Kennedy, who was Party leader from 1999 to 2006. The Party began to refer to its Frontbench Team as a Shadow Cabinet during Kennedy's tenure as leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Climate Action and Energy (Austria)</span>

The Ministry of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology is the government ministry of Austria in charge of traffic, research, innovation, energy, and environmental protection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Blair ministry</span> 2005-2007 Government the United Kingdom

The third Blair ministry lasted from May 2005 to June 2007. The election on 5 May 2005 saw Labour win a historic third successive term in power, though their majority now stood at 66 seats – compared to 167 four years earlier – and they failed to gain any new seats. Blair had already declared that the new term in parliament would be his last.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of the Republic of Italy</span>

A Ministry of the Republic of Italy is an administrative organ of the Republic of Italy, placed at the top of Italian public administration and is characterised by one or more specific competencies, with an organised structure, often varying over time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation in Scotland</span> Overview article

This article gives an overview of the structure of environmental and cultural conservation in Scotland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environment and Ecology Bureau</span> Hong Kong policy bureau

Environment and Ecology Bureau is one of the fifteen policy bureau of the Government of Hong Kong. The agency was established on 1 July 2022. The current Secretary for Environment and Ecology is Tse Chin-wan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anwar Ibrahim cabinet</span> Government of Malaysia since 2022

The Anwar Ibrahim cabinet is the current federal cabinet of Malaysia, formed on 3 December 2022, nine days after Anwar Ibrahim took office as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia. The composition of the cabinet was announced by Anwar a day earlier on 2 December 2022, consisting of most of the political coalitions and parties represented in the 15th Parliament. It was the 23rd cabinet of Malaysia formed since independence. Although Perikatan Nasional (PN) was also invited to join the government, it decided to decline the invitation and instead formed the opposition. The government is often referred to as "unity government".

References

  1. 1 2 Peter Hennessy, Whitehall p.439
  2. Jonathan Glancey (1996-10-25). "Don't look back". The Independent. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  3. David Butler and Gareth Butler, British Political Facts 1900–1994. (7th edn. Macmilln 1994) 56.
  4. "Secretary of State for Environment". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Retrieved 23 October 2017.