Peter Kyle has been promoted to business minister, while the Department for Education looks set to be carved up as Keir Starmer completes a wide-ranging reshuffle.

Kyle, who has been secretary of state for science and technology since the inception of the Labour government in July 2024, will be replaced by Liz Kendall,?who moves from her current role as secretary of state for work and pensions.

Prime minister Starmer has been reshuffling his team after his deputy, Angela Rayner, was forced to quit following questions about the amount of tax she paid on her flat in Hove.

Among further changes being made by Starmer, the Westminster government¡¯s skills brief is reportedly to be moved from the Department for Education to a newly revamped Department for Work and Pensions.

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Senior Labour figure Pat McFadden?will head up the new department, moving from his current role as Cabinet Office minister.

The BBC reported that skills will sit under McFadden, potentially spreading responsibility for parts of the higher education system across three different Whitehall departments.

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Critics have?long complained about the disconnect caused by responsibility for research sitting under the science department while the education department oversees university teaching.

It was unclear whether the current skills minister Jacqui Smith will be asked to move departments along with her brief.

The move also raises questions about the future of the skills White Paper, expected to outline a vision for the entire?post-16 education sector, which was?due to be published this autumn.

In another change likely to affect universities,?Shabana Mahmood is taking over from Yvette Cooper as home secretary, with responsibility for visa requirements for international students.?

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Before leaving to become the new foreign secretary, Cooper had promised a?¡°clampdown¡± on?international students claiming asylum?when their visas expire. Vice-chancellors will hope that Mahmood, a former shadow universities minister, will take a different approach to Cooper who also spearheaded the immigration White Paper that proposed to cut the graduate visa to 18 months.

Kendall is less familiar to universities, despite her long track record in prominent positions within Labour. After losing the 2015 leadership election to Jeremy Corbyn, Kendall was brought back into the shadow Cabinet by Starmer in 2020, serving first as shadow minister for social care before becoming shadow work and pensions secretary.

Alicia Greated, executive director for the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE), welcomed Kendall to the role, adding that it was ¡°critical to have research and innovation represented at the Cabinet table¡±.

¡°Peter Kyle has been a great champion for UK R&D and technology during his time as secretary of state for DSIT,¡± Greated continued. ¡°We wish him luck in his new post at the Department for Business and Trade, where we hope to continue working with him on the important issues facing what is a vital part of the UK¡¯s R&D sector.¡±

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Greated added that the sector needed ¡°clarity¡± on the impact of the changes to the skills remit.

Rosalind Gill, director of policy, analysis and external affairs at the National Centre for Universities and Business,?said: the ¡°decision to move responsibility for skills into the Department for Work and Pensions under Pat McFadden brings opportunities ¨C particularly around employability and productivity ¨C but also raises important questions¡±.

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¡°Early clarity on how skills policy will be coordinated across departments and aligned with employers¡¯ needs will be critical. Universities and businesses together are central to equipping people with the skills for the future economy.¡±

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com