Prior to being split into three related departments in 2023, the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) was a significant department in the UK government. It was responsible for business, industrial strategy, science, research and innovation, energy and climate change. Show In 2022, we joined the Digital Solutions programme at BEIS as an Agile PowerPlatform Partner. We were brought in to help drive the delivery of enhancements and integrations to their existing portfolio delivery and reporting tools. What we did The digital project capabilities of BEIS grew organically over many years with a variety of tools and platforms being developed as needs changed. BEIS managed a significant number of projects and programmes across its mission and priorities, so increasing management consistency was important in supporting its delivery aims. The Digital Solutions programme at BEIS was a body of work that aimed to integrate end-to-end digital journeys for project stakeholders. It was aiming to create a new baseline service, using a mixture of existing tools, including Microsoft Power Platform, Microsoft Power BI and BEIS’ own Online Reporting Tools, with new tools as required. The programme was already well underway when we joined, but we wanted to ensure we were challenging assumptions and constructively questioning existing plans and processes. We worked with BEIS to iterate user requirements based on input from users and experts. We helped with the rapid delivery of live updates to the pre-existing business case management platform. We also released a complex integration between a third-party SaaS system and an internal, legacy reporting platform. "BEIS is at an important phase of our delivery transformation and Storm ID is a significant and welcome partner in helping us achieve our strategic objectives." Results BEIS was seeking the best delivery tools and processes, and as an Agile PowerPlatform Partner we able to assist in this transformative aim. The partnership also helped us to learn how to better manage large fully deployed teams which are a mix of permanent staff and contractors. Our partnership is continuing on with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), which took over energy policy responsibilities after BEIS was dissolved. BEIS replaced the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in July 2016. It is building an economy that works for everyone, so that there are great places in every part of the UK for people to work and for businesses to invest, innovate and grow. Find out more about BEIS. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was established on 7 February 2023 by a cabinet reshuffle under the Rishi Sunak premiership. The new department absorbed the functions of the former Department for International Trade and some of the functions of the former Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy. The department is headed by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, assisted by a number of junior ministers. The incumbent and the first to hold the role is Kemi Badenoch. Background[edit]Foundation[edit]The department was established on 7 February 2023. It combines the business-focused responsibilities of the former Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) with the former Department for International Trade (DIT). The ministers and senior civil servants from DIT were carried over to continue leading the new department. The creation of the new department was described by Downing Street as an opportunity to provide "a single, coherent voice for business inside government, focused on growing the economy with better regulation, new trade deals abroad, and a renewed culture of enterprise at home". Responsibilities[edit]The department's focus was outlined by Downing Street as follows:
Scrutiny[edit]Since 26 April 2023, the work of the department has been scrutinised by the Business and Trade Select Committee of the House of Commons. This is a renaming of the Business Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, which absorbs the responsibilities of the dissolved International Trade Committee. History[edit]The department was responsible for finalising negotiations for the UK's to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in April 2023, a free-trade agreement (FTA) between 11 countries around the Pacific Rim: Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Japan. It successfully concluded an agreement after 2 years of negotiations. In May 2023, the Minister for Investment, Dominic Johnson became the first UK government minister to visit Hong Kong since 2018, and the first since the imposition of a new national security law by Beijing in the Special Administration Region. In May 2023, the department announced that it had commenced negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement with Switzerland. Ministers[edit]DBaT ministers are as follows, with cabinet members in bold: Minister Portrait Office PortfolioThe Rt Hon. Kemi Badenoch MP  As President of the Board of Trade, the Secretary of State is responsible for leading engagement with the whole of the UK on the UK’s global trade and investment agenda. The role is held concurrently with her position as Secretary of State for Business and Trade. As Minister for Women and Equalities, the Secretary of State also has responsibility for developing an equalities policy that is based on individual autonomy and dignity and for promoting equality of opportunity for everyone. Kevin Hollinrake MP The Minister is responsible for the following business sectors: audit and insolvency; hospitality; retail; consumer goods, and personal care. The Minister is further responsible for the following policy areas: sustainability and infrastructure, free trade agreements with Canada and Mexico, managing retained EU law (repeal and reform), economic security, trade defence, global supply chains, critical minerals, Ukraine reconstructions, and the UK sanctions regime. The Minister is also responsible for managing the Industrial Development Advisory Board (IDAB). |
