New construction minister appointed after just one month

Anne-Marie Trevelyan has become the latest construction minister, replacing Kwasi Kwarteng after just one month following his appointment as business secretary.

Trevelyan, who is MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed, has been handed the energy portfolio, which includes construction, after Kwarteng moved up to replace Alok Sharma, who in turn will focus full-time on his role as president of the UN COP26 global climate talks in Glasgow this year.

• Kwasi Kwarteng appointed as construction minister

Kwarteng was appointed construction minister in December
2020, after his predecessor Nadhim Zahawi was placed in charge of England’s
coronavirus vaccine roll-out.

In his new role as business secretary, Kwarteng sent a
letter to the construction industry yesterday (11 January), restating the
government position that construction and its supply chain should continue to
operate during the latest coronavirus lockdown. Thanking the sector for its
efforts, Kwarteng said: “It is vital that construction continues through these
unsettling times and I want to reassure you that the government values the
crucial contribution your sector is making. Whether delivering on large or
small construction sites, and in peoples’ homes across the country, in
builders’ merchants, designing and project managing schemes or producing
construction and mineral products, you are making a major contribution to the
economic recovery following covid-19.”