The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was created by the Gordon Brown premiership on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. It was disbanded by the Theresa May premiership on the creation of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 14 July 2016.
Secretaries of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
The Permanent Secretary was Sir Martin Donnelly.
Responsibilities Some policies apply to England alone due to devolution, while others are not devolved and therefore apply to other nations of the United Kingdom. The department was responsible for UK Government policy in the following areas:
business regulation and support company law competition consumer affairs corporate governance employment relations export licensing further education higher education innovation insolvency intellectual property outer space postal affairs regional and local economic development science and research skills trade training
Devolution Economic policy is mostly devolved but several important policy areas are reserved to Westminster. Further and higher education policy is mostly devolved. Reserved and excepted matters are outlined below. Scotland Reserved matters:
Competition Customer protection Import and export control Insolvency Intellectual property Outer space Postal services Product standards, safety and liability Research councils Telecommunications Time Business associations Weights and measures in relation to goods The Scottish Government Economy and Education Directorates handle devolved economic and further and higher education policy respectively. Northern Ireland Reserved matters:
Consumer safety in relation to goods Import and export controls, external trade Intellectual property Postal services Telecommunications Units of measurement Excepted matter:
outer space The department's main counterparts are:
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (general economic policy) Department for Employment and Learning (employment relations, further and higher education policy) Wales
Under the Welsh devolution settlement, specific policy areas are transferred to the Welsh Government rather than reserved to Westminster.
See also Feltag
References
External links Official website bis.gov.uk/ Archived Website Precursor departments:
Department for Business and Regulatory Reform (BERR) Archived Website Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) Archived Website