The new secretary of state at Defra must keep the Circular Economy Strategy on track – Inside track

This post is by Dr Colin Church, CEO of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining, chair of Green Alliance’s Circular Economy Task Force and a member of the government’s Circular Economy Taskforce.

Avid Whitehall watchers have had a bit of stimulation recently following the major reshuffle of government ministers prompted by the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner. Speculation about a reshuffle had been growing since before the summer, but it seems unlikely the timing was ideal for the Starmer government, coming as it did just before the party conference season. But if you are more into the policies than the personalities, does this kind of churn within the same government matter?

The simple answer is yes, it does, in several ways. In our system of government, ministers take the final decisions on policy. This means that what they prioritise and how they work has a major influence on those policies, and changes in ministers can, therefore, lead to changes in policy direction, even within the same political party. So, what differences come with the appointment of a new minister? I’d group the main ones around five areas: focus, knowledge, networks, making a mark and style.

1. The PM steers the focus
First, a new minister will be given some kind of steer from the prime minister when appointed, based largely on the political context for the reshuffle (party factions, opinion polls, media stories etc). It won’t, for instance, necessarily be what those in the environment sector see as a complete set of the most immediate priorities. This steer will clearly be front of mind for the new minister as they start their job and will inform their early public statements, which can cause issues if it leaves out some key areas.

2. A minister may have little knowledge of their new brief
Second, and perhaps most obviously, there is no guarantee an incoming minister will know anything at all about their new responsibilities, or perhaps only what any ordinary citizen might know. For example, when working in waste policy in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) under the previous administration, it was normal for a new waste minister’s knowledge of their policy area to be entirely limited to their experience of their own household bins, and it took a while to get past that into the wider context.

3. Networks and contacts outside government take time to build
Third, and linked to the previous point, the new incumbent may well not have the networks and contacts in their new sector outside government that – hopefully at least – their predecessor developed. This will mean that they are much less likely to hear intelligence from ‘on the ground’ and will be much less able to triangulate what they hear in the early days in their role.

4. It’s hard for new ministers to resist making changes
Fourth, it is only too human for a new incumbent to want to bring their own mark to something. Even if a policy area is progressing in the most sensible, widely supported and evidence based manner, the temptation to ‘make it your own’ by changing something will be very hard for a minister to resist. After all, by definition, they have usually been brought in because they are expected to ‘do better’ (or at least do things differently) than the person they are replacing.

5. Ministers have different working styles
Finally, the working style of the new minister is likely to be different to their predecessor, which can also have an impact on how they approach their area of work, how (or indeed whether) they engage with stakeholders, how much time they can dedicate to the ministerial role (versus parliamentary, party or constituency responsibilities) etc.

Overall, the usual impact of a new minister is acceleration or a rapid change of direction in the areas of focus and a slowing down in other areas.

On the other hand, a new minister can bring new energy to an area. They may, in fact, come with useful and relevant expertise, networks or ideas; and, quite often, they will have more cross-government clout than their predecessor as the ‘new kid on the block’ in that area. The classic example in living memory is of course the appointment of Michael Gove to Defra in 2017, who brought all that and more, making a significant impact on the department and its policies.

Given where we are with work on the eagerly awaited Circular Economy Strategy for England, what might all this mean for that?

Having a new secretary of state (a cabinet level minister) in Defra has potential for a big impact. Emma Reynolds’ career to date doesn’t suggest a lot of involvement with circular thinking so perhaps it is no surprise that her early statements of her priorities failed to mention this key area.

It will take a while for the lead junior minister, Mary Creagh, Defra officials and external stakeholders, such as Green Alliance and its Circular Economy Task Force to bring the secretary of state up to speed. However, the evidence is increasingly clear that making better use of resources has great potential to boost growth and support the innovative, futureproofed businesses of the future, as well as protect the environment.

Analysis by PwC shows that matching existing international best practice in just four sectors could boost UK GDP by one per cent and productivity by 0.4 per cent. Recent Green Alliance polling has shown very strong public support, with 82 per cent in favour of a society that uses material resources more efficiently. Maintaining ambition – as set out in Green Alliance’s recent ‘five tests’ briefing – and regaining momentum is essential.

Changes in some of the other departments central to the strategy may also have an impact.

Peter Kyle, as new secretary of state at business and trade (DBT) is in a particularly key position, given the centrality of many of its policy areas to the strategy and its roadmaps. We might all hope that the new leader at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steve Reed, will continue to give his vocal support to the strategy. Elsewhere, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, having recognised the vital role of circularity in tackling greenhouse gas emissions, is likely to continue to be a strong supporter. The position of the Treasury in all this remains fundamental, as always.

Overall, given the work done within Defra and across government in preparing for the strategy’s consultation this autumn, including through the government’s own Circular Economy Taskforce, I have some hope that we will not lose too much ambition or momentum. The UK needs to accelerate the move to a more circular economy to realise its benefits to businesses, the environment, consumers, national security and resilience as soon as possible in this increasingly challenging world. An ambitious Circular Economy Strategy this autumn is vital.

Image credits to UK Government on Flickr