Lee Rowley appointed new construction minister

Derbyshire MP Lee Rowley has been appointed as the new construction minister, the government has confirmed.

Rowley is the sixth person to hold the post the past two and a half years. He replaces former construction minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who was appointed as secretary of state for international trade in last week’s reshuffle.

Rowley is understood to have been in the frame earlier this week for the unpaid job, which will be among his responsibilities in his role of minister for business and industry at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

A spokesperson for the department said Rowley’s other responsibiltiies are still being worked through.

As a parliamentary under secretary of state, Rowley holds a more junior position to Trevelyan, who was minister of state while construction minister from January to September this week.

Rowley has already met with Construction Leadership Council chair Andy Mitchell. As construction minister, Rowley will co-chair the group.

He said: “It was great to meet [CLC] chair Andy Mitchell; the Council is doing excellent work to help the sector recover after coronavirus and to prepare the industry for the long-term opportunities ahead.

“I look forward to working closely with the CLC on our shared objectives.”

Rowley was first elected as the MP for North East Derbyshire in the 2017 election, taking the seat from Labour for the first time since 1935.

He was also appointed as one of the six junior lords of the treasury in the reshuffle, which saw Michael Gove replace Robert Jenrick as secretary of state of a rejigged Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Other roles at BEIS connected to construction include minister for science, research and innovation George Freeman, whose responsibilities include industrial strategy delivery, and Lord Gerry Grimstone, who is responsible for infrastructure and materials, including steel.