Government creates new Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in reorganisation
Wed 08 February 2023
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The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has announced changes to the structure of Government departments, creating a new Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to take on some of the former functions of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. Grant Shapps MP, former Transport Secretary, is the new Secretary of State.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is tasked with securing the UK's long-term energy supply to cut energy bills and reduce inflation. The Government says that the move recognises the impacts of the war in Ukraine on energy prices, and the need to secure more energy from domestic nuclear and renewable sources as we seize the opportunities of net zero.
There will be a new, dedicated Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to drive the innovation to deliver improved public services. The Government says that: "Having a single department focussed on turning scientific and technical innovations into practical, appliable solutions to the challenges we face will help make sure the UK is the most innovative economy in the world".
A combined Department for Business and Trade is intended to support growth by backing British businesses at home and abroad, promoting investment and championing free trade.
Andy Eastlake, Zemo's CEO, commenting on the departmental changes in an article for GreenFleet Magazine said: "It's crucial that the UK develops the industrial capability to retain and support our automotive sector. A decade ago the Automotive Council presented the consensus view of five strategic technologies for UK automotive, publishing ‘roadmaps’ with energy storage and management being an important area.
"Not all the predictions made then have turned out quite as forecast but battery research and development has indeed been a UK strength. But now, with demand burgeoning for batteries from every sector of automotive (from mopeds to trucks), the urgent need for batteries (and power electronics motors and drives) must focus our industrial manufacturing minds as sharply as our research and innovation ones have been."
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