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{{Short description|Former UK cabinet position}}{{for|the contemporary UK cabinet posts which holds the portfolio|Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs |Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities}}

factoids

The secretary of state for the environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment (DoE). Today, its responsibilities are carried out by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The post was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Building and Works on 15 October 1970. Thus it managed a mixed portfolio of issues: housing and planning, local government, public buildings, environmental protection and, initially, transport – James Callaghan gave transport its own department again in 1976. It has been asserted that during the Thatcher government the DoE led the drive towards centralism, and the undermining of local government.Peter Hennessy, Whitehall p.439 Particularly, the concept of 'inner cities policy', often involving centrally negotiated public-private partnerships and centrally appointed development corporations, which moved control of many urban areas to the centre, and away from their, often left-wing, local authorities. The department was based in Marsham Towers, three separate tower blocks built for the separate pre-merger ministries, in Westminster.WEB, Jonathan Glancey,weblink Don't look back, The Independent, 1996-10-25, 2019-01-29, In 1997, when Labour came to power, the DoE was merged with the Department of Transport to form the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR), thus, essentially, restoring the DoE to its initial 1970 portfolio. The titular mention of 'the Regions' referred to the government's pledge to create regional government. In the wake of the 2001 foot and mouth crisis, the environmental protection elements of the DETR were split of and merged with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), to form the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Meanwhile, the transport, housing and planning, and local and regional government aspects went to a new Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR). A year later the DTLR also split, with transport getting its own department and the rest going to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

List of environment secretaries{| class"wikitable" style"text-align:center; white-space: nowrap"

British Political Facts 1900–1994. (7th edn. Macmilln 1994) 56.HTTPS://API.PARLIAMENT.UK/HISTORIC-HANSARD/OFFICES/SECRETARY-OF-STATE-FOR-ENVIRONMENT, Secretary of State for Environment, Hansard, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 23 October 2017, ! colspan=2 | Portrait! Name(Birth–Death)! colspan=2 | Term of office! Party! Ministry75px)Peter Walker, Baron Walker of Worcester>The Right HonourablePeter WalkerMBEMP for Worcester(1932–2010)| 15 October1970| 5 November1972 Conservative Heath75px)Geoffrey Rippon>The Right HonourableGeoffrey RipponQCMP for Hexham(1924–1997)| 5 November1972| 4 March1974 Conservative75px)Anthony Crosland>The Right HonourableAnthony CroslandMP for Great Grimsby(1918–1977)| 5 March1974| 8 April1976 Labour Wilson(III & IV)75px)Peter Shore>The Right HonourablePeter ShoreMP for Stepney and Poplar(1924–2001)| 8 April1976| 4 May1979 Labour Callaghan75px)Michael Heseltine>The Right HonourableMichael HeseltineMP for Henley(born 1933)| 5 May1979| 6 January1983 Conservative Thatcher I75px)Tom King, Baron King of Bridgwater>The Right HonourableTom KingMP for Bridgwater(born 1933)| 6 January1983| 11 June1983 Conservative75px)Patrick Jenkin, Baron Jenkin of Roding>The Right HonourablePatrick JenkinMP for Wanstead and Woodford(1926–2016)| 11 June1983| 2 September1985 Conservative Thatcher II75px)Kenneth Baker, Baron Baker of Dorking>The Right HonourableKenneth BakerMP for Mole Valley(born 1934)| 2 September1985| 21 May1986 Conservative (File:No image.svg|75px) Nicholas Ridley (politician)Nicholas RidleyMP for Cirencester and Tewkesbury (UK Parliament constituency)>Cirencester and Tewkesbury(1929–1993) 21 May1986 24 July1989 Conservative Thatcher III75px)Chris Patten>The Right HonourableChris PattenMP for Bath(born 1944)| 24 July1989| 28 November1990 Conservative75px)Michael Heseltine>The Right HonourableMichael HeseltineMP for Henley(born 1933)| 28 November1990| 11 April1992 Conservative Major I75px)Michael Howard>The Right HonourableMichael HowardQCMP for Folkestone and Hythe(born 1941)| 11 April1992| 27 May1993 Conservative Major II75px)John Gummer>The Right HonourableJohn GummerMP for Suffolk Coastal(born 1939)| 27 May1993| 2 May1997 Conservative

References

{{Secretary of State for Environment}}