The energy minister John Hayes has been moved from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to become a senior consultant at 10 Downing Street.
The business minister Michael Fallon will be parachuted into the vacant role, assuming Haye’s energy brief in addition to his current role at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Despite only holding the position of energy minister for six months, Hayes was involved in a number of controversial disputes with the Liberal Democrat-led DECC – clashing over a number of renewable energy issues. Most notably, Hayes publicly undermined the coalition’s policy on wind farms during a series of interviews, earning himself a slap-down from the prime minister and energy secretary Ed Davey for publicly calling for an end to onshore wind farms.
More recently, Hayes publicly objected to the installation of a proposed 83MW solar farm by Peterborough Council.
The Prime Minister, David Cameron, said in a message on Twitter:
Delighted John Hayes joining me as a Senior Parliamentary adviser – and Michael Fallon adding a key energy role to his brief.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) March 28, 2013
Reacting to the ministerial announcements, Zac Goldsmith MP, took to twitter to note:
As Ministers move from brief to complicated brief, even mid-legislation, it shows how irrelevant to policy making most of them really are.
— Zac Goldsmith (@ZacGoldsmith) March 28, 2013
Commenting on the appointment of Michael Fallon, Greenpeace policy director Doug Parr said: “Britain is at a crossroads, with decisions being made now that will define how we get and use energy for the next 30-40 years. As such, Michael Fallon has a real opportunity to clean up our power sector, capitalise on clean, home-grown energy and properly open Britain for green business.
“In opposition he authored a law to drive investment in renewable energy, and as deputy chairman of the Conservatives he described the renewables sector as ‘the work force of tomorrow’. We look forward to him putting this vision into practice and safeguarding green jobs and growth.”
DECC believes that the marriage of Fallon's roles will help join up work on low-carbon industries like nuclear and offshore wind and the supply chain.
Secretary of State Edward Davey said: “John and I have worked well together as an effective team, and I’m especially grateful for his work on steering the Energy Bill through Parliament. I wish him well in his new post. I am delighted to welcome Michael Fallon to DECC. He brings with him a wealth of business experience and will make an excellent addition to the team.
“He will help to cement the links I’ve been making across government as energy is such a critical industry for the UK’s growth prospects, and the creation of green jobs. We will continue to implement the energy and climate change policies that this Coalition Government has committed to.”
Minister Michael Fallon concluded: “Both departments share a strong focus on business and the economy and I am delighted to be given the opportunity to build on their cross cutting work on this agenda.
“This week has seen the launch of important industrial strategies for the nuclear and oil and gas sectors to secure future billions of investment, thousands of jobs and a diverse energy mix. A strategy for offshore wind will be completed in the coming weeks.
“Energy policy has a key role to play in securing sustainable future growth in the economy, strengthening supply chains, keeping people’s bills down and tackling climate change”.