Thoughts On The Death Of DECC

Over the course of 13 and 14 July 2016, UK's new Prime Minister, Theresa May, appointed the Secretaries of State who will lead the various Departments of Government.  By the end of the process, which was precipitated by the UK's referendum vote to leave the EU, the Cabinet had gained two new Secretaries of State (for "Exiting the European Union" and "International Trade").  At the same time, the position of Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change had been abolished, along with the Department which its holder led (DECC).  To anyone with a professional interest in energy and climate change policy, this will likely have felt like a backward step.  If nothing else, as pointed out by Angus MacNeill, Chair of the House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee, it raises some important questions which will need to be answered quickly.