Prime Minister announces restructure of Whitehall

Prime Minister announces restructure of Whitehall 

The Prime Minister has announced a significant restructuring of Whitehall, outlined in a written statement to Parliament by Baroness Smith of Basildon, Leader of the House of Lords. 

A new Office for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet (OPMC) is being created, bringing together No.10, a new "No.10 North" devolution unit, and Cabinet Office teams serving the PM and Cabinet. It will be led by the Cabinet Secretary and will also run a new OneGov Delivery Agency for cross-government operational services.

A significant change that will impact on the tourism sector is No.10 North takes on local economic growth and devolution strategy from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), and local growth policy from the Treasury, positioning it as the main driver of regional economic policy. Caroline Simpson, currently chief executive of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, is lined up to run it day to day.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is being dissolved, with its functions redistributed across government. AI strategy, public sector AI adoption and the AI Security Institute move to the Cabinet Office, supported by a new AI Taskforce and a Prime Ministerial adviser on AI.

DCMS's remit will enlarge, absorbing digital foundations, digital transformation, digital inclusion and skills, information resilience and online harms, alongside its existing culture, media and sport remit. It also picks up the Office for Impact Economy and digital identity policy from the Cabinet Office.

The Department for Business and Trade is being renamed the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST) and will take on the science and innovation portfolio, emerging sectors, and the Investment Security Unit.

The Office for Equality and Opportunity moves from the Cabinet Office to MHCLG, and the Public Sector Fraud Authority moves to DWP.