New Housing Secretary appointed

James Brokenshire, MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup and previous Secretary for Northern Ireland, has been appointed as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, following a cabinet reshuffle, which has seen Sajid Javid moved to Home Secretary.

James Brokenshire said: “I am honoured to have been asked by the Prime Minister to serve as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. I am determined to get Britain building the homes our country needs so everyone can afford a place to call their own.

“One of my top priorities is going to be ensuring everyone affected by the Grenfell Tower fire gets the support they need and we learn lessons from the tragedy so something like this can never happen again.

“As the son of a former chief executive of a council local government is in the blood for me. So I look forward to working with councils across the country by supporting them to deliver quality public services and build strong integrated communities.”

Of the appointment, Melanie Leech, Chief Executive, British Property Federation commented: “While it is disappointing to lose Sajid Javid from housing, we welcome James Brokenshire and look forward to working with him to drive forward the government’s multi-tenure approach to new housing delivery and the policy changes to the National Planning Policy Framework. These changes underpin the government’s agenda on so many levels – providing the right homes in the right places will increase UK productivity, economic growth and social wellbeing in the long-term.”

Image: shutterstock

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