Cameron announced Communities Secretary Eric Pickles will be replaced by former Universities Minister Greg Clark…
While a number of senior Conservatives retained their posts in yesterday’s cabinet shuffle, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles was replaced.
Pickles has undoubtedly had a tumultuous stint as Communities Secretary. During his tenure he has caused contention on numerous occasions by overturning local authority decisions on planning applications or going against the recommendation of planning inspectors. He faced criticism over his micromanagement of communities, as well as his failure to tackle the housing crisis. More recently he came under fire for discriminating against travellers.
His replacement, Greg Clark, while seemingly not an obvious choice should be a welcomed one. Although he was appointed Universities Minister in the 2014 cabinet shake up, Clark had been the Minister of State for Decentralisation at the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) in 2010.
During his previous stint at the DCLG, Clark led on the Localism Act, which sought to give power to communities. He was also instrumental in the development of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
While Clark should be pleased about his appointment, there is little doubt he faces significant challenges ahead. The crisis in the housing industry was one of the main points raised during the election campaign and it remains an issue that is important to the public. How it can be tackled is not an easy question to answer.
Furthermore, the increasing call to devolve more powers to local authorities will keep the new Secretary of State on his toes. How this will pan out in the future is unclear, but there is little doubt this subject will continue to be at the forefront of discussions.
It will also be interesting to see what plans Clark has for the planning sector and how he intends to steamline the process. The NPPF, for example, has been criticised for its complexity.
How Clark will differ from his predecessor remains to be seen, but it is hoped the former Universities Minister will bring new ideas to the department during his tenure.
Perhaps he will overturn Pickles’ Christian fundamentalist ruling to disregard the court ruling that prayers as part of the agenda at council meetins are unlawful?