What is clear from the majority of appointments is that Mr Cameron will continue the work his Party began in partnership with the Liberal Democrats, to reduce the deficit and cut public spending.
Liz Truss continues as Secretary of State for Environment – with stability and continuity for the Department likely to be welcomed given Defra’s high ministerial turnover during the coalition years. Since her appointment to the role in 2014, much of Mrs Truss’s focus has been on the agricultural and countryside aspects of the Department, but having had close to 12 months to get to grips with the portfolio it is likely that she will be able to start on a strong footing.
There will of course have to be some changes, with the resources minister Dan Rogerson among the ranks of Liberal Democrat MPs to have lost out at last week’s ballot. Whether a minister whose first job in office was to write to the waste sector to tell them that the government would focus on other priorities will be missed by the sector is debatable, but Mr Rogerson did draw praise for his focus on waste crime and PRNs.
Defra
Junior ministerial appointments are expected later in the week, although it appears that the former resources minister Lord de Mauley, who spent today in Brussels at EU agricultural committee talks, could be set to continue in the Department.
Perhaps of more interest is the news that the outspoken Communities Secretary and champion of weekly waste collections, Eric Pickles, is to take on other duties after five years in the role. No doubt this will be a popular move amongst local authority recycling officers up and down the country, many of whom felt his focus on collection frequency drew attention from other important issues on waste and recycling.
His successor, the Tunbridge Wells MP Greg Clark has previously spoken favourably about energy from waste, and a lack of mention in the Conservative manifesto suggests that weekly collections may no longer be a priority for the party. Greater focus will need to be given to efforts to meet the 50% by 2020 recycling target, an issue that the waste industry has already made clear it will be discussing with new ministers.
Of further importance will be the need to operate within tight financial margins. Local authorities have proven over the last five years that they can keep services running at low cost, but with the Conservatives set to continue to keep a tight rein on budgets, this could be more important than ever.
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