Rayleigh and Wickford MP Mark Francois has been confirmed as the new Minister of State for Communities and Resilience at the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).
Mark’s responsibilities, reporting to the new Secretary of State, Greg Clark MP, will include the overview of local government policy and finance, fire and resilience, coastal communities and devolution of powers to local government. Mark will also serve as the new Minister for the Thames Gateway. In addition, Mark, who previously served as Minister of State for the Armed Forces at the Ministry of Defence, will also have the responsibility of Minister for Portsmouth, with the duty of helping to push through a number of specific projects in and around that city, some of which relate to the Royal Navy.
The other Minister of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government, Brandon Lewis MP, retains the title of Minister of State for Housing and Planning and will keep policy responsibility for those issues.
Mark’s political career began in local government in Essex, when he served as a local councillor on Basildon District Council (now Basildon Borough Council) in the early to mid 1990’s.
Commenting on his new Ministerial appointment, Mark Francois said:
"As a former serviceman, I will miss serving at the MOD but, having also served in local government, I am looking forward to taking up new challenges as a Minister of State at DCLG. Part of my portfolio includes the Thames Gateway and I will look forward to meeting with local government leaders in due course to discuss the further development of the Gateway, including some of the important infrastructure issues which this involves."