February 2023 British cabinet reshuffle

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak carried out the first cabinet reshuffle of his premiership on 7 February 2023.^[1] The reshuffle saw a significant restructuring of a number of government departments, and gave Sunak the opportunity to fill the vacancy left by Nadhim Zahawi after he was dismissed as Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio on 29 January 2023, following a scandal surrounding his tax affairs.

Rishi Sunak

The reshuffle saw a significant restructuring of government departments. The Department for International Trade and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) were merged to form the new Department for Business and Trade. The energy and climate policy responsibilities of BEIS were spun off to form the new Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. The science and innovation policies of BEIS were combined with the digital portfolio of the former Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to form the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. The DCMS continues as the newly constituted Department for Culture, Media and Sport.^[2]

Cabinet-level changes

Colour key
Joined the Cabinet      Portfolio created or merged

Minister		Position before reshuffle	Position after reshuffle
	Rt Hon Greg Hands MP	Minister of State for Trade Policy	Chairman of the Conservative Party Minister without Portfolio
	Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP	Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy	Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
	Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP	Secretary of State for International Trade President of the Board of Trade	Secretary of State for Business and Trade President of the Board of Trade
	Rt Hon Michelle Donelan MP	Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport	Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
	Rt Hon Lucy Frazer KC MP	Minister of State for Housing and Planning	Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
	Rt Hon Oliver Dowden MP	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

Junior ministerial changes

Colour key
Promoted[note 1]

Minister		Department before reshuffle	Department after reshuffle
	Rachel Maclean MP	Backbench MP	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
	Rt Hon Graham Stuart MP	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy	Energy Security and Net Zero
	George Freeman MP		Science, Innovation and Technology
	Nus Ghani MP		Business and Trade
	Kevin Hollinrake MP
	Nigel Huddleston MP	International Trade
	Maria Caulfield MP
	Andrew Bowie MP		Energy Security and Net Zero
	Paul Scully MP	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport	Science, Innovation and Technology

Whips' Office appointments

Whip		Previous position	New position
	Stuart Anderson MP	Assistant Government Whip	Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
	Ruth Edwards MP	Backbench MP	Assistant Government Whip

Conservative Party appointments

Appointee		Position before appointment	New party position
	Lee Anderson MP	Backbench MP	Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party

See also

• Sunak ministry
• Premiership of Rishi Sunak
• 2023 in politics and government

Notes

1. According to the ministerial pay scale:

   Parliamentary Private Secretary < Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State < Minister of State