During the government of
Sir Alec Douglas-Home, the then
president of the Board of Trade,
Edward Heath, was given in addition the job of
secretary of state for industry, trade and regional development. This title was not continued under
Harold Wilson, but when Heath became Prime Minister in 1970 he decided to merge functions of the Board of Trade and the
Ministry of Technology to create the
Department of Trade and Industry. The head of this department became known as the
secretary of state for trade and industry and also retained the title of
President of the Board of Trade. When
Harold Wilson re-entered office in March 1974, the office was split into the
Department of Trade, the
Department of Industry and the
Department of Prices and Consumer Protection, resulting in the creation of three new positions:
Secretary of State for Industry,
Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection, and
Secretary of State for Trade. The title President of the Board of Trade became the secondary title of the Secretary of State for Trade. By 1979 the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection was abolished by the incoming
Conservative government and its responsibilities were reintegrated into the Department of Trade. Furthermore, 1983 the offices of trade and industry were remerged and the title of Secretary of State for Trade and Industry was recreated. When
Michael Heseltine held this office, he preferred to be known by the older title of President of the Board of Trade, and this practice was also followed by
Ian Lang and
Margaret Beckett. Heseltine's decision to reuse the old title caused some controversy, and it was discovered that the Board of Trade had not in fact met since the mid-nineteenth century. Under
Gordon Brown's premiership there were two re-namings of the role and three re-alignments of responsibility. In his first cabinet of 2007, he called the post
Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. With this change, the
Better Regulation Executive was added to the department but the
Office of Science and Innovation was lost. In 2008, the title remained the same but responsibility for energy was lost. In 2009, the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was merged into the existing department and the post became
Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. In July 2016,
Prime Minister Theresa May decided to merge the
Department for Energy and Climate Change into this department with the responsibilities for post-19 education and skills being returned to the
Department for Education resulting in the position being renamed to
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. At the same time in July 2016, the post of
President of the Board of Trade was transferred to the newly created post of
Secretary of State for International Trade. The current role of
Secretary of State for Business and Trade was established on 7 February 2023 after a cabinet
reshuffle by Prime Minister
Rishi Sunak saw the dissolution of the
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and its responsibilities transferred to three new departments:
Department for Business and Trade, the
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and the
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. The new Department for Business and Trade absorbed the business policy responsibilities of BEIS, and the functions of the former
Department for International Trade. In May 2023 the position was incorporated as a
corporation sole. == List of secretaries of state ==