Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
source
Agency name	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Native name	BIS
Formed	2010
Dissolved	2016
Preceding1	Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Preceding2	Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
Superseding	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Jurisdiction	United Kingdom
Headquarters	London
Minister1 name	David Cameron
Minister1 pfo	Prime Minister

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills was a ministerial department of the United Kingdom formed in 2010 and abolished in 2016, responsible for industrial strategy, higher education, trade and regulation. It operated under successive cabinets led by David Cameron and interacted with institutions such as University of Oxford, Bank of England, Confederation of British Industry, Institute of Directors and international partners like European Union and World Trade Organization.

History

The department was created following the 2010 United Kingdom general election through the merger of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, reflecting priorities set by the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats in the Coalition government, 2010–2015. Its tenure spanned events including the 2010 United Kingdom general election, the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, and the negotiations around Brexit referendum, 2016, before responsibilities transferred to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy under the Theresa May administration. Ministers and officials engaged with actors such as Vince Cable, Michael Fallon, Greg Clark, Lord Mandelson, and agencies like Companies House and UK Export Finance.

Responsibilities and Functions

BIS combined duties formerly held by separate bodies to oversee industrial strategy, higher education funding, competition policy and intellectual property. It worked with Higher Education Funding Council for England, Office for Fair Trading, Competition and Markets Authority, UK Intellectual Property Office and British Chambers of Commerce to shape policy on research, innovation, apprenticeships and trade. The department liaised with European Investment Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and sectoral stakeholders including National Health Service suppliers, Rolls-Royce Holdings, BAE Systems and Jaguar Land Rover.

Organizational Structure

BIS comprised ministerial leadership supported by senior civil servants, directorates for science and innovation, higher education, industry, markets and consumers, and regional teams for England, Scotland and Wales. It oversaw non-departmental public bodies such as Research Councils UK, UK Research and Innovation, Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council and the Technology Strategy Board. Senior posts linked with entities like Cabinet Office, Home Office, HM Treasury, Department for International Trade and devolved administrations including the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive.

Major Policies and Initiatives

BIS launched initiatives addressing innovation, apprenticeships, university reform, competition and export promotion. Notable programmes and policies included support for research through Research Excellence Framework, the expansion of apprenticeships interacting with Institute for Apprenticeships, reforms to tuition fee policy tied to debates involving University of Cambridge and London School of Economics, industrial strategy engagements with manufacturers such as Unilever and GlaxoSmithKline, and export promotion via UK Trade & Investment and British Chambers of Commerce. It also implemented regulatory reforms influenced by reports from Cameron–Clegg coalition partners, consultations with Confederation of British Industry and legal frameworks such as the Companies Act 2006.

Budget and Resources

The department's budget allocations were determined within the spending reviews overseen by HM Treasury and presented in statements by chancellors including George Osborne and Philip Hammond. Expenditure covered research councils, higher education grants, business support schemes, and administrative costs, with financial oversight involving National Audit Office audits and parliamentary scrutiny by the Treasury Select Committee and the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee. BIS distributed funding to bodies such as Higher Education Statistics Agency and Catapult centres while coordinating European funding streams from programmes linked to the European Research Council and structural funds.

Criticisms and Controversies

BIS faced critiques over tuition fee policy, the handling of research funding allocations, the effectiveness of apprenticeship reforms and perceived regulatory failures. Debates involved stakeholders like University Alliance, Russell Group, University and College Union, CIPD, and parliamentary inquiries by the Public Accounts Committee. Controversies also arose from decisions on consumer protection previously overseen by the Office for Fair Trading, disputes over industrial policy with firms including Tata Steel and British Steel Corporation, and tensions during the transition to successor departments under the Theresa May government.

Category:Defunct departments of the United Kingdom government