What does the big September reshuffle mean for R&D?

New Secretaries of State for DSIT and skills

The headline change for the R&D sector is the appointment of a new Secretary of State for DSIT. Liz Kendall has taken over the role from Peter Kyle who held the position since the formation of the Labour Government in July 2024. Kendall brings strong political experience to the role, having served as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions since July 2024 and had a place in Labour’s shadow cabinet when they were in opposition. Kendall was also a member of the Education Committee (2010) and the Science and Technology Committee (2018-19), important experience to have as she gets up to speed in her new department. We look forward to working with her in the weeks and months ahead.

Peter Kyle has moved into a new role as Secretary of State for Business and Trade, and CaSE hopes to continue our engagement with him to boost UK business R&D. DSIT also saw a reshuffle of its junior ministers which we touch on below.

Pat McFadden will take over from Liz Kendall as the new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with an expanded brief that will include skills – an area that previously sat in the Department for Education. Baroness Smith will continue her role as Minister for Skills but now across both DWP and DfE.  We are currently waiting to hear more about the updated brief, in particular it is not yet clear what this change of department means for Higher Education policy and the upcoming Post-16 Skills and Higher Education White Paper. Machinery of government changes can be disruptive in the short term – in the end, this change should be judged on its ability to improve government policy and delivery.

New phone, who DSIT?

Beyond the changes at Cabinet level, there were lots of changes in junior minister positions in the reshuffle. For the R&D sector, DSIT has had a near total overhaul of its ministerial team. Alongside its new Secretary of State Liz Kendall, Ian Murray and Kanishka Narayan have joined as junior ministers, with Murray’s role split between DSIT and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Murray has strong ministerial experience, having previously served as Secretary of State for Scotland, and it is promising to see the appointment of Narayan, who has previously worked with climate and fintech start-ups prior to joining parliament. They replace the previous junior ministers Chris Bryant, Baroness Jones and Feryal Clark. The only remaining minister, Lord Vallance, has taken a new ministerial role in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) in addition to his role as Science Minister.

This places a squeeze on DSIT, with its ministerial team shrinking from five to four and the Science Minister taking on new responsibilities in DESNZ. We hope this will not disrupt government plans and that DSIT and the Government will continue the momentum shown in the settlement for R&D in the Spending Review and positive recognition of the R&D sector in the Industrial Strategy.

Other changes that matter for R&D

The reshuffle has also made changes to a raft of other government departments that don’t directly affect R&D but will have knock-on impacts for the sector.

There have been sweeping changes to the Home Office ministerial team, with all ministers responsible for immigration being replaced. Shabana Mahmood, the former Justice Secretary, has taken over as Home Secretary from Yvette Cooper. Seema Malhotra, formerly the Migration and Citizenship Minister, and Dame Angela Eagle, formerly the Border Security and Asylum Minister, have also left the department with Sarah Jones and Alex Norris joining without announced portfolios. It remains to be seen what this means for Government policy, but this could signal a pivot in the Government’s immigration policy – with some anticipating Mahmood to take a more hard-line stance. CaSE will continue to follow implications for the R&D sector and advocate for the importance of international talent for the UK sector.

Looking across the rest of Whitehall, the following changes may also impact the R&D sector. Baroness Gustaffson, Minister of State for Investment, and Sarah Jones, Minister of State for Industry, have left their roles and Jim McMahon has left his role as Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution – it is unclear how this will affect the progress of the English Devolution Bill. Maria Eagle has left her role as Minister of State for Defence Procurement and Industry which may impact the defence R&D sector. Replacements for these portfolios have not been announced, but it is likely they will be covered by the relevant department’s new ministerial teams.

While the reshuffle is over things are far from settled, with new ministerial portfolios and departmental priorities unclear. CaSE will continue to monitor the changes and will provide an update when the new briefs are clear.