Ian Pearson appointed as minister for WEEE

Mr Pearson was appointed to BERR as part of the major government reshuffle held by Prime Minister Gordon Brown over the weekend, and it has now been revealed that he will hold the post of economic and business minister within the department.

His ministerial portfolio, which will be shared with the Treasury, sees him responsible for “sustainable development and regulation”, including WEEE recycling, and he has also been made responsible for batteries, end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) and the packaging waste duties BERR also covers.

Mr Pearson takes over the brief for sustainability issues from Malcolm Wicks, who left his post as minister for energy at BERR as part of the changes which saw the department's responsibility for energy issues moved to the newly established DECC (see letsrecycle.com story).

In his role he will also deal with environmental industries, corporate social responsibility, and a range of other sectors which include aerospace, materials and engineering and the subject of export controls.

Experience

While he had spent the past 16 months as the minister for science and innovation at department for innovation, universities and skills, Mr Pearson has had prior experience in the waste and recycling sector after serving as minister of state for climate change and environment at Defra between May 2006 and June 2007.

The 49-year-old MP for Dudley South has held a number of other government roles since becoming an MP in 1994, including time as the minister for trade between May 2005 and May 2006 and spending three years as parliamentary undersecretary of state in the Northern Ireland office.

Mr Pearson's arrival at BERR was part of a wholesale ministerial changeover at the department which included the high profile return to government of Peter Mandelson as secretary of state for business, replacing previous incumbent John Hutton.

His fellow junior ministers are: Pat McFadden – minister for employment relations and postal affairs; Gareth Thomas – minister for trade, investment and foreign affairs; Baroness Shriti Vadera – minister for competitiveness and small business; Stephen Carter – minister for communications, technology and broadcasting.

While the portfolios of the new ministerial teams at BERR and Defra have been revealed, the responsibilities for the new team at DECC, which includes former waste and recycling minister Joan Ruddock (see letsrecycle.com story), has yet to be made public.