Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what (a) direct ministerial and (b) other public appointments to his Department and associated bodies have (i) been (A) removed from their posts and (B) asked to resign and (ii) made since 4 July 2024.

The Department for Business and Trade has made three direct ministerial appointments since 04 July 2024: 1) Professor Sir Steve Smith, reappointed as International Education Champion, for a period of 12 months and 2) Lord Lancaster, reappointed as Defence and Security Advocate for a period of 3 months and 3) Clare Barclay as Chair of the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council.

Departments do not routinely record and collect the reasons why appointees leave their positions. The reasons why an appointee has left their role is the appointee’s personal information and identifiable and would elicit GDPR considerations.