ODPM nil DCLG 4

There have been a lot of column inches devoted to Prezza’s skirt lifting and croquet and his consequent loss of face and department, but not much that I have seen on the practical implications of the departmental shift.

The former ODPM is now the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). On the internet odpm.gov.uk, dclg.gov.uk and the preferred communities.gov.ukdomains resolve to the same IP address. The website is the unchanged,save forthe new logo and a revised About page.

The Women and Equality Unit (WEU) has moved to DCLG from the Department for Trade and Industry.

The Race, Cohesion and Faiths Directorate has moved to DCLG from the Home Office. It “works with other government departments to reduce race and faith inequalities in education, health, housing and the Criminal Justice System, as well as the labour market.” It has its ownwebsite- brand new and incomplete.

DCLG is also the sponsor department for the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) which now encompasses the CRE, the DRC and the EOC.

No doubt further changes are afoot.