Department of Trade and Industry (United Kingdom)

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The Department of Trade and Industry was a United Kingdom government department formed on 19 October 1970. It was replaced with the creation of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills on 28 June 2007.[1][2]

History

The department was first formed on 19 October 1970[3] with the merger of the Board of Trade and the Ministry of Technology, creating a new cabinet post of Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. The new department also took over the Department of Employment's former responsibilities for monopolies and mergers. In January 1974, the department's responsibilities for energy production were transferred to a newly created Department of Energy. On 5 March that year, following a Labour Party victory in the February 1974 general election, the department was split into the Department of Trade, the Department of Industry and the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection.[4]

Reformation

In 1983 the departments of Trade and Industry were reunited. The Department of Energy was re-merged back into the DTI in 1992, but various media-related functions transferred to the Department for National Heritage. Until it was succeeded in June 2007 the DTI continued to set the energy policy of the United Kingdom.[5]

After the 2005 general election the DTI was renamed to the Department for Productivity, Energy and Industry,[6] but the name reverted to Department of Trade and Industry less than a week later,[7] after widespread derision, including some from the Confederation of British Industry.

Structure

The DTI had a wide range of responsibilities. There were ultimately nine main areas covered by the DTI:

  • Company Law
  • Trade
  • Business Growth
  • Innovation
  • Employment Law
  • Regional Economic Development
  • Energy
  • Science
  • Consumer Law.


Corporate policing

It also had responsibility for investigating misconduct by company directors, in which role Private Eye repeatedly lampooned it as "the Department of Timidity and Inaction".


People

Secretary of State for Trade and Industry & President of the Board of Trade (1983–2007)

Name Took office Left office
Cecil Parkinson 12 June 1983 11 October 1983
Norman Tebbit 16 October 1983 2 September 1985
Leon Brittan 2 September 1985 22 January 1986
Paul Channon 24 January 1986 13 June 1987
David Young 13 June 1987 24 July 1989
Nicholas Ridley 24 July 1989 13 July 1990
Peter Lilley 14 July 1990 10 April 1992
Michael Heseltine† 10 April 1992 5 July 1995
Ian Lang† 5 July 1995 2 May 1997
Margaret Beckett† 2 May 1997 27 July 1998
Peter Mandelson 27 July 1998 23 December 1998
Stephen Byers 23 December 1998 8 June 2001
Patricia Hewitt 8 June 2001 6 May 2005
Alan Johnson†† 6 May 2005 5 May 2006
Alistair Darling 5 May 2006 27 June 2007
  • † - Primarily referred to as President of the Board of Trade, and not as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
  • †† - Alan Johnson was initially announced on 6 May 2005, after the general election, as being "Secretary of State for Productivity, Energy and Industry and President of the Board of Trade", but after just a week, on 13 May, it was declared that the new title would not be used, after widespread derision of the new name, because the abbreviation for Johnson's title, Productivity, Energy and Industry Secretary, would have been "PENIS"[8]


Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform & President of the Board of Trade (2007–2009)

Name Took office Left office
John Hutton 28 June 2007 3 October 2008
The Lord Mandelson 3 October 2008 5 June 2009

Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills & President of the Board of Trade (since 2009)

Name Took office Left office
The Lord Mandelson 5 June 2009 11 May 2010
Vince Cable 12 May 2010 Incumbent

External links

Video clips

Notes

  1. ↑ GNN news release on creation of BERR
  2. ↑ BIS Website
  3. ↑ Records created or inherited by the Department of Trade and Industry National Archives accessed December 22, 2012
  4. ↑ The National Archives, National Digital Archive of Datasets. Department details: Department of Trade and Industry
  5. ↑ BERR history page
  6. ↑ BBC article on renaming to DPEI
  7. ↑ BBC article on reversion of name change
  8. ↑ Profile: Alan Johnson. 18 June 2005.  The Telegraph
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