The staff at DLUHC (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) will once again be ordering some new headed notepaper and changing the sign on the door on the news that the department has, on 9th July 2024, been renamed MHCLG (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government). Well, perhaps not a renaming in its entirety but a reversion to its previous name, held between 2018 and 2021. The revert-naming has been announced by the new head of this ministry, Angela Rayner, who has described the previous ‘levelling-up’ title as a ‘slogan’ and a ‘gimmick’.
The ministry is not immune to a bit of rebranding. In my 11-year career in advising local authorities I was initially introduced to the Whitehall department as ‘DCLG’ (Department for Communities and Local Government), which I then had to get used to calling ‘MHCLG’ in 2018 after a cabinet reshuffle by then prime minister Theresa May. For the record there is no real difference between a ‘Department’ and a ‘Ministry’. Boris Johnson gave the department the label of ‘Levelling Up’ in 2021 to emphasise a mission to improve the fortunes of less affluent areas outside of London (including the ‘red wall’ constituencies that had got him such a big majority). So, a new name to get used to, but at least one that could be pronounced quite easily as ‘dee-luck’. A (somewhat older) colleague of mine can remember no fewer than eight names for the department or its equivalent within his working life: DoE, DETR, DLTR, ODPM, DCLG, MHCLG, DLUHC and MHCLG (again). It’s a lot of acronyms to learn!
Whist the things that this department oversee (local government and housing) have clearly existed in some form for hundreds of years the department in its current form was initially created as part of the Cabinet Office with the title of ‘Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’ (ODPM) in 2001. It was headed by then Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. Local government, which had previously been taken care of by the Department for Transport, Local Government and Regions (DTLR), was moved over to this new department. The department got its first Secretary of State (David Miliband) in 2005.
Before that local government had been looked after by the Department for the Environment, Transport and Regions (DETR) between 1997 and 2001 and before that the ‘Department of the Environment’ (DoE) between 1970 and 1997. Before this it was the ‘Ministry of Housing and Local Government’ (MHLG – only one letter different from the current acronym!) from the post-war period. Before this it gets a little murkier. Preludes to the MHLG were the Local Government Board (in existence from 1871) and the Ministry of Town & Country Planning. Previous entities to this with local authority responsibilities included the Privy Council and Poor Law Board.
Like all Whitehall departments MHCLG is subject to renaming and reshuffles generally when there is a new government, or new Prime Minister, or sometimes due to other political whims. This may be largely cosmetic, as in the most recent change, but mergers and changes have also reflected different priorities over the years. For example, housing is now seen as a key issue of vital importance to local authorities, so it has been added to the name. The Environment is now seen as a more standalone issue to local authority management and is looked after by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. The Department for Transport is now a separate entity as well. Albeit these functions clearly still have many interactions with local authorities.
It looks like there will continue to be an alphabet soup of acronyms for everyone to enjoy for some years to come. Arlingclose will be watching closely to see if the most recent name change comes with some more freedoms and improved funding for our local authority clients.
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