Minister of State for Energy John Hayes, has left the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and has been replaced by Conservative MP Michael Fallon, it was announced last week (28 March).

According to the DECC, Hayes will now take up the role of Minister of State without portfolio, while Fallon will carry out the post of Energy Minister in addition to his current role as Minister of State for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

The DECC have stated that the change will ‘help to join up the government’s work on low carbon industries like nuclear and offshore wind and the supply chain’ and follows criticisms from many environmental and renewable energy groups, including Friends of the Earth, over Hayes’s perceived lack of endorsement for wind energy.

Speaking about the change in minister, Friends of the Earth’s Head of Campaigns, Andrew Pendleton, said: “The development of a safe, clean and affordable energy system must be a top priority for Michael Fallon.

"It's time to stop tilting at windmills - the new Minister must recognise the potential of developing Britain's substantial renewable energy resources and harvest the huge economic and environmental benefits this will bring.

"The nation's headlong dash for gas is speeding UK energy policy in the wrong direction - we need a 2030 clean power target in the Energy Bill to put it on the right track."

Controversial decision

The ‘mini-reshuffle’ is a controversial decision, with some members of parliament voicing concern over Fallon becoming over-stretched as he juggles two portfolios.

Writing for the Guardian, Labour politician and MP for Brent North, Barry Gardiner said: ‘David Cameron’s decision to move the erstwhile energy minister John Hayes to a made-up role in the Cabinet Office shows the Prime Minister has finally understood the damage to business confidence that his tenure in the Department of Energy and Climate Change has caused over the past seven months.

‘We are told that his replacement, Michael Fallon, will double up and retain his role as business minister. While some may argue that this is to leave the DECC hopelessly under strength to carry the energy bill through parliament and to deliver the £200 billion overhaul needed in our energy infrastructure, it must be acknowledged that a minister who can ride these two horses would bring a much-needed ability to integrate energy into our wider industrial policy.’

Gardiner went on to say that Fallon could ‘make a profound impact on his new department’ by announcing his support for the tabled 2030 decarbonisation target in the Energy Bill.

Writing in his blog, Alan Whitehead, MP for Southampton Test, further voiced concern over the government’s commitment to a ‘low-carbon energy future’.

He wrote: ‘Whether the new Energy Minister, who will be the third Energy Minister to have to bite into the indigestible pie of the Energy Bill as it lumbers its way through Parliament, will last any longer [than seven months] is a matter for conjecture. But it does make one wonder about what it is about energy that successive Prime Ministers can think that replacing ministers every few months is OK, because somehow coherent and well-founded energy policy is not important, and that, in this instance placating some querulous backbenchers is of a higher order than getting to grips with a low-carbon energy future in a coherent way.

However according to Maria McCaffery, RenewableUK Chief Executive, Fallon’s dual role will “ensure that two major government departments - Energy and Business - will work even more closely together in order to deliver tens of thousands of low-carbon jobs”.

‘Delighted to be given this opportunity’

Talking about his new position, Fallon said: "Both departments share a strong focus on business and the economy and I am delighted to be given the opportunity to build on their cross cutting work on this agenda.

“This week has seen the launch of important industrial strategies for the nuclear and oil and gas sectors to secure future billions of investment, thousands of jobs and a diverse energy mix. A strategy for offshore wind will be completed in the coming weeks.

“Energy policy has a key role to play in securing sustainable future growth in the economy, strengthening supply chains, keeping people's bills down and tackling climate change.”

Secretary of State, Edward Davey, added: ”I am delighted to welcome Michael Fallon to DECC. He brings with him a wealth of business experience and will make an excellent addition to the team.

“He will help to cement the links I’ve been making across government as energy is such a critical industry for the UK’s growth prospects, and the creation of green jobs.

“We will continue to implement the energy and climate change policies that this Coalition Government has committed to, ensuring we can keep the lights on, people’s energy bills down and cut emissions to tackle climate change.”

Fallon has been the Conservative MP for Sevenoaks, Kent since 1997. He is married and has two children.