Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was a ministerial department of the United Kingdom Government created on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR). It was disbanded on the creation of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 14 July 2016.^[2]

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Welsh: Yr Adran Fusnes, Arloesi a Sgiliau

Department overview
Formed	5 June 2009
Preceding Department	Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
Dissolved	14 July 2016
Superseding agency	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; Department for International Trade
Jurisdiction	United Kingdom
Headquarters	1, Victoria Street, London
Annual budget	£16.5 billion (current) and £1.3 billion (capital) for 2011-12 ^[1]
Child agencies	Companies House HM Land Registry Insolvency Service Intellectual Property Office Met Office National Measurement and Regulation Office Skills Funding Agency UK Space Agency
Website	www.gov.uk/bis

Secretaries of State for Business, Innovation and Skills

Name		Portrait	Took office	Left office	Length of term	Political party	Prime Minister
	The Lord Mandelson		5 June 2009	11 May 2010	11 months and 6 days	Labour		Gordon Brown
	Vince Cable		12 May 2010	12 May 2015	5 years	Liberal Democrats		David Cameron (Coalition)
	Sajid Javid		12 May 2015	14 July 2016	1 year, 2 months and 3 days	Conservative		David Cameron (II)

The Permanent Secretary was Sir Martin Donnelly.

Responsibilities

Some policies apply to England alone due to devolution, while others are not devolved and therefore apply to other nations of the United Kingdom. The department was responsible for UK Government policy in the following areas:^[3]

• business regulation and support
• company law
• competition
• consumer affairs
• corporate governance
• employment relations
• export licensing
• further education
• higher education
• innovation
• insolvency
• intellectual property
• outer space
• postal affairs
• regional and local economic development
• science and research
• skills
• trade
• training

Devolution

Economic policy is mostly devolved but several important policy areas are reserved to Westminster. Further and higher education policy is mostly devolved. Reserved and excepted matters are outlined below.

Scotland

Reserved matters:^[4]

• Competition
• Customer protection
• Import and export control
• Insolvency
• Intellectual property
• Outer space
• Postal services
• Product standards, safety and liability
• Research councils
• Telecommunications
• Time
• Business associations
• Weights and measures in relation to goods

The Scottish Government Economy and Education Directorates handle devolved economic and further and higher education policy respectively.

Northern Ireland

Reserved matters:^[5]

• Consumer safety in relation to goods
• Import and export controls, external trade
• Intellectual property
• Postal services
• Telecommunications
• Units of measurement

Excepted matter:^[6]

• outer space

The department's main counterparts are:^[7]

• Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (general economic policy)
• Department for Employment and Learning (employment relations, further and higher education policy)

Wales

Under the Welsh devolution settlement, specific policy areas are transferred to the Welsh Government rather than reserved to Westminster.

References

1. Budget 2011 (PDF). London: HM Treasury. 2011. p. 48. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
2. Prime Minister's Office: Changes to the machinery of Government 8 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
3. "Department for Business, Innovation and Skills". gov.uk. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
4. "Scotland Act 1998, Schedule 5, Part II". Opsi.gov.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
5. "Northern Ireland Act 1998, Schedule 3". Opsi.gov.uk. 25 June 1998. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
6. "Northern Ireland Act 1998, Schedule 2". Opsi.gov.uk. 25 June 1998. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
7. "Departments (Transfer and Assignment of Functions) Order (Northern Ireland) 1999". Opsi.gov.uk. 5 October 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2012.

External links

• Official website
• bis.gov.uk/ Archived Website

Precursor departments:

• Department for Business and Regulatory Reform (BERR) Archived Website
• Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) Archived Website