Political Updates 23rd October 2017

This week’s Political Updates, covers moves and changes at all levels of government. 

  Government Departments

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

• Horserace Betting Levy Board – Paul Lee reappointed as Chair

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

• Tom Dodd has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Finland in succession to Sarah Price

Ministry of Justice:

• Independent Monitoring Boards of Prisons and Immigration Removal Centres – Dame Anne Owers appointed as National Chair from 1 November
• Judicial Commissioners – Sir Nicholas Blake, Lord Bonomy, Lord Bracadale, Dame Linda Dobbs, Lord Gill, Lord Justice Gillen, Sir Henry Globe, Sir John Goldring, Sir John Griffith-Williams, Sir Kenneth Parker, Sir John Saunders, Sir Stephen Silber and Sir Alan Wilkie were appointed Judicial Commissioners under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016

House of Commons

• Robert Courts has been appointed as a member of the Backbench Business Committee
• Rehman Chishti has been appointed as a member of the Home Affairs Committee
• Vernon Coaker has been appointed as a member of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee
• Bob Stewart has been appointed as a member of the Northern Ireland Committee
• Andrew Bowie, Jack Brereton and Chris Green have been appointed as members of the Work and Pensions Committee
• Eddie Hughes has been appointed as a member of the Women and Equalities Committee
• Tonia Antoniazzi, Simon Hoare and Anna McMorrin have been appointed as members of the Welsh Affairs Committee
• Vicky Ford, Adam Holloway and Stephanie Peacock have been appointed as members of the Science and Technology Committee
• Damien Moore has been appointed as a member of the Petitions Committee

House of Lords

• Lord Lloyd Webber (Andrew Lloyd Webber) has retired from the House of Lords
• Lord Gordon of Strathblane appointed as a member of the House of Lords Communications Committee
• Viscount Chandos has replaced Lord Harrison as a member of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 Committee
• Sir Theodore Agnew has been raised to the peerage as Lord Agnew of Oulton. He will be introduced to the House of Lords on 23 October
• Rona Fairhead has been raised to the peerage as Baroness Fairhead, of Yarm in the County of North Yorkshire. She will be introduced to the House of Lords on 24 October

        Plaid Cymru

Plaid Cymru Shadow Cabinet porfolios:

• Leader – Leanne Wood
• Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport – Rhun ap Iorweth
• Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning – Llyr Gruffudd
• Shadow Cabinet Secretary for the Welsh Language, Local Government and Equality – Siân Gwenllian
• Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children; Steel Spokespoerson – Bethan Jenkins
• Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance and External Affairs – Steffan Lewis
• Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Social Services and Public Health – Dai Lloyd
• Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure – Adam Price
• Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Climate Change and Rural Affairs – Simon Thomas

UKIP

UKIP Cabinet Portfolios

• Leader and spokesperson for Defence – Henry Bolton
• Deputy Leader and spokesperson for Aid and International Development – Margot Parker
• Assistant Deputy Leader – Jim Carver
• Assistant Deputy Leader, spokesperson for Fisheries and spokesperson for Veterans – Mike Hookem
• Interim Chair – Paul Oakden
• Political Adviser and spokesperson for Treasury – Jonathan Arnott
• Leader of UKIP in Wales – Neil Hamilton
• Leader of UKIP in Scotland – David Coburn
• Spokesperson for UKIP in London – Peter Whittle
• MEP Delegation Leader and spokesperson for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs – Ray Finch
• Spokesperson for Home Affairs/Police & Fire – Jane Collins
• Spokesperson for Justice – Peter Jewell
• Spokesperson for Immigration & Integration – John Bickley
• Spokesperson for Cyber & Terrorism – Richard Bingley
• Spokesperson for Business – Christopher Mills
• Spokesperson for Small Business – Ernie Warrender
• Spokesperson for Trade & Industry – William Dartmouth
• Spokesperson for Employment – Andrew Charalambous
• Spokesperson for Transport & Infrastructure – Jill Seymour
• Spokesperson for Energy – Jonathan Bullock
• Spokesperson for Agriculture – Stuart Agnew
• Spokesperson for Environment and Spokesperson for Health – Julia Reid
• Spokesperson for Culture & Arts – David Meacock
• Spokesperson for Communities & Local Government – Tim Aker
• Spokesperson for Equalities & Disabilities – Star Anderton
• Spokesperson for Exiting the European Union – Gerard Batten
• Spokesperson for Electoral Reform – David Allen
• Spokesperson for Sport – Bill Etheridge

National Assembly for Wales

• Neil McEvoy and Rhun ap Iorwerth have  appointed as members of the Petitions Committee.
• Adam Price has been appointed as a member of the Public Accounts Committee.
• Dai Lloyd has replaced Sian Gwenllian as member of the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee 
• Sian Gwenllian has replaced Dai Lloyd as a member of the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee

European Parliament

• This week, MEPs will be in Strasbourg for plenary sessions, in which MEPs will debate important issues, take significant decisions through votes by adopting, amending, or rejecting legislation.