The revolving door in the government last year led to the Department for Education’s changing line-up of ministers holding more than 130 introductory meetings with sector leaders in the space of just six months.
Between the start of July and the end of September, there were four different secretaries of state, three schools ministers and three children’s ministers in post, before a further reshuffle took place in October.
A DfE register published today shows this led to 74 different events marked “introductory meeting to discuss the organisation following the ministerial reshuffle” in the period from July to September, with a further 59 such meetings from October to December involving the current government ministers.
There was a wave of government resignations from Boris Johnson’s government in July last year over its handling of the Chris Pincher scandal, with a temporary cabinet eventually being appointed while the Conservative leadership contest was held.
When Liz Truss was chosen as party leader - and therefore became prime minister - in September, a new cabinet was appointed, only for this to be reshuffled out after her resignation from Downing Street the following month.
Reshuffle disruption at the DfE
The register shows how on 7 July Michelle Donelan, who was to hold the post of education secretary for less than 48 hours, held four different introductory meetings - including with Paul Whiteman, of the NAHT school leaders’ union; Geoff Barton, of the Association of School and College Leaders; and Leora Cruddas, of the Confederation of School Trusts - only to resign hours later.
All three of these guests attended four introductory meetings between July and September, with Ms Donelan; her successor, James Cleverly, who was the third education secretary in the space of a week; and his successor, Kit Malthouse; as well as an extra meeting with then children’s minister Kelly Tolhurst. None of these ministers are now in post.
Each then attended a further similar meeting with the current education secretary, Gillian Keegan, while representatives from their organisations also attended a meeting with schools minister Nick Gibb.
And Kevin Courtney and Mary Bousted, joint general secretaries of the NEU teaching union, were invited for two separate meetings with James Cleverly, nine days apart, both marked as “introductory meeting to discuss the organisation following the ministerial reshuffle”.
Representatives from the union also held an introductory meeting with former schools minister Jonathan Gullis, who has since referred to the organisation as the “not education union”, and Dr Bousted and Mr Courtney as “Bolshevik Bousted and Commie Courtney”, when criticising industrial action in parliamentary debates.
Mr Gullis also had further meetings with the NASUWT union, for which he was once a rep, and sector leaders including Dame Alison Peacock, chief executive of the Chartered College of Teaching, and Melanie Renowden, chief executive of the National Institute of Teaching.
Will Quince, who was children’s minister before resigning over the Pincher scandal, agreeing to return to that post and then becoming a schools minister and later a health minister, also held a series of introductory meetings with school staff unions after being appointed to his second DfE role as schools minister.
The later set of meetings from October to December 2022 covers the current ministerial line-up and includes meetings held by Ms Keegan, Mr Gibb and skills minister Robert Halfon.
