New housing minister appointed amid reshuffle

Mr Jones announced his appointment in a tweet late yesterday. “This is an important and challenging brief and I look forward to giving all my energy and attention to this demanding role,” he said. 

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ (DLUHC) website has listed Mr Jones as a minister, but does not detail his responsibilities. However, a DLUHC source confirmed to Social Housing he has taken the housing brief.  

The MP for Nuneaton is making a return to the department, having served as a junior minister in the Department for Communities and Local Government between 2015 and 2018. He then became vice-chairman of the Conservative Party, with responsibility for local government. 

Mr Jones’s boss at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) will be Greg Clark, who was appointed secretary of state yesterday. Mr Clark is also making a return, as he was housing secretary under prime minister David Cameron.

He was given the job after his predecessor, Michael Gove, was sacked by Mr Johnson. 

Mr Clark tweeted yesterday: “Having been secretary of state at the communities department before, I will do my best to provide stability, good governance and accountability to Parliament at this important time.”

MP Paul Scully has also been appointed as a junior minister at DLUHC, but his responsibilities are yet to be announced. He was previously a minister at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and minister for London. He has retained the latter role. 

It is unclear how long the newly appointed ministers will stay in their roles, as a new Conservative leader is expected to be in place by October at the latest.