Secretary of State for Business and Trade | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Secretary of State for Business and Trade | Vacant |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade | Vacant |
| Department | Department for Business and Trade |
| Reports to | The Prime Minister |
| Member of | Cabinet |
| Appointed by | The Sovereign, on the advice of the Prime Minister |
| Seat | Old Admiralty Building, Admiralty Place, London, SW1A 2DY |
| Shadowed by | Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade |
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade is the minister in charge of the Department for Business and Trade, responsible for business, trade, employment law and Companies House. The office holder is a member of the Cabinet and is appointed by The Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister.
History
The Business Secretary looks after the country's companies and its trade with the rest of the world, and sets the law on how businesses are run and how workers are treated. In UKOGB the Business Secretary also reviews applications to register companies, alongside the Registrar of Companies, so every company on the register at Companies House has passed through the department.
Role
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade leads the Department for Business and Trade. They decide the department's policy within the government's programme, defend its budget, answer questions about it in the House of Commons, and bring forward the bills it needs through Parliament. Like every Cabinet minister, they are bound by collective responsibility: once the Cabinet has decided something, all its members must support it in public or resign.
On the UKOGB website the Secretary of State for Business and Trade is the head of the department. They can edit its page, choose who works there and post its announcements, and they get the Cabinet and HM Government roles in the Discord server.
Opposition counterpart
The Shadow Cabinet includes a Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade, chosen by the Leader of the Opposition. The shadow minister questions the Secretary of State for Business and Trade in the Commons, responds to the department's announcements and sets out what the Opposition would do instead.
See also
This page was last edited on 3 November 2026.