The recent reshuffle by Number 10 has hit the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government perhaps more than any other, with a new minister set to take over responsibility for the Local Government Pension Scheme.  

As Steve Reed replaces Angela Rayner as secretary of state at the department, there are also several junior minister changes.   

The MP in charge of the Local Government Pension Scheme, Jim McMahon, has been ousted from his role as local government and English devolution minister. McMahon, a former Oldham councillor, had been welcomed by the LGPS community for his understanding of the sector when he was first appointed.  

There are now three new faces at MHCLG, whose briefs have not been revealed yet. Minister of state Alison McGovern has been moved to MHCLG from the Department for Work and Pensions.   

Miatta Fahnbulleh joins as parliamentary under-secretary from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, while Samantha Dixon, previously a government whip, has been appointed parliamentary under-secretary of state. Dixon is the MP for Chester North and Neston.  

Alex Norris has been moved from MHCLG to the Home Office, being made minister of state, while Lord Khan of Burnley, formerly parliamentary under-secretary for faith, communities and resettlement, appears to have been dropped. 

The reshuffle was expected before Rayner’s tax affair broke, but some commentators believe it to be more extensive than planned in order to deflect attention from the prime minister’s former deputy.  

The changes at MHCLG come as Pat McFadden, who was Labour’s election campaign coordinator, takes the helm at DWP. Pensions minister Torsten Bell remains in place, as do most other ministers at DWP. Dame Diana Johnson, MP for Kingston upon Hull, is joining that department from the Home Office. Skills minister Baroness Smith of Malvern is also new to the team as her brief now sits within the DWP rather than the Department for Education.