Political Updates 10th July 2017

This week’s Political Updates, covers moves and changes at all levels of government. 

  Government Departments

• Robbie Gibb has been appointed as the Number 10 Director of Communications.
• Nicola Dandridge has been appointed as the Chief Executive of the Office for Students.
• Jacqueline de Rojas has joined the Digital Economy Council at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
• Nigel Phillips has been appointed Governor of the Falkland Islands and Her Majesty’s Commissioner for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
• Ben Summerskill and Christina McAnea have joined the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service Council at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. 

• The election of select committee chairs will be held on Wednesday 12th July. MPs had until 3pm on Friday to stand as select committee chairs. The chairs are elected by MPs through a secret ballot. The chair of each committee will be from the following parties:

Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy – Labour
Communities and Local Government – Labour
Culture, Media and Sport – Conservative, Elected: Damian Collins MP
Defence – Conservative
Education – Conservative
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – Conservative
Exiting the European Union – Labour, Elected: Hilary Benn MP
Foreign Affairs – Conservative
Health – Conservative, Elected: Sarah Wollaston MP
Home Affairs – Labour, Elected: Yvette Cooper MP
International Development – Labour, Elected: Stephen Twigg MP
International Trade – Scottish National Party, Elected: Angus MacNeil MP
Justice – Conservative, Robert Neill MP
Northern Ireland Affairs – Conservative
Science and Technology – Liberal Democrat
Scottish Affairs – Scottish National Party, Elected: Pete Wishart MP
Transport – Labour
Treasury – Conservative
Welsh Affairs – Conservative, Elected: David T.C. Davies MP
Women and Equalities – Conservative, Elected: Maria Miller MP
Work and Pensions – Labour

Other specified select committees:
Backbench Business Committee – Labour
Environmental Audit – Labour, Elected: Mary Creagh MP
Petitions – Labour, Elected: Helen Jones MP
Procedure – Conservative, Elected: Charles Walker MP
Public Accounts – Labour, Elected: Meg Hiller
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs – Conservative, Elected: Bernard Jenkin MP
Standards – Labour, Elected: Kevin Barron MP

• Lord Patel replaced the Earl of Selborne as a member of the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology.
• Liberal Democrat Life Peer, The Earl of Mar and Kellie has retired.
• Conservative Life Peer, Lord Feldman has retired.  

Devolved Institutions

 Scottish Parliament

• The Scottish parliament is in recess until Tuesday 5 September.
• Karen Reid has been appointed Interim Chief Executive at Education Scotland.

 Welsh Assembly

• Gareth Bennett has replaced David Rowlands as a member of the Standards of Conduct Committee.

• This week will be dedicated to committee meetings in Brussels.