Lord Henley confirmed as recycling minister

Issues pertaining to waste and recycling are set to fall under Lord Henley's brief, which also includes issues such as air quality, environmental regulation, climate change – adaption, sustainable development, local environmental quality (including noise), among others.

Lord Henley entered the House of Lords in 1977 and has held a number of front bench positions both in government under Margaret Thatcher and John Major and also in opposition.

His political career has included posts as House of Lords whip and ministerial positions at the Department of Social Security, Department for Employment, Ministry of Defence and Department for Education and Employment.

Between 1998 and 2001 he served as opposition chief whip in the House of Lords and later held posts as opposition spokesperson for the cabinet office, legal affairs, constitutional affairs, home affairs and, most recently as a shadow justice minister.

Appointment

The appointment of Lord Henley to Defra comes shortly after Caroline Spelman was announced environment secretary (see letsrecycle.com story).

And, at the end of last week, fellow Conservatives James Paice and Richard Benyon were also appointed to Defra, as minister of state and under secretary of state, respectively.

The make-up of the department's ministerial team is drawn heavily from people with a background in the agricultural sector, which could cause concern for those involved in waste and recycling.

Mr Benyon, 49, served as a shadow minister for environment, food and rural affairs from January 2009 until the election, where he monitored the work of Defra and formulated Conservative policy in this area.

Prior to his appointment in the shadow environment team, he served as a Party Whip and also sat on the Home Affairs Select Committee. At a local level, Mr Benyon served as the Conservative leader on Newbury council in the 1990s before entering parliament in 2005.

Among the issues covered in Mr Benyon's brief are: wildlife; rural affairs; natural environment; ecosystem services; biodiversity; and, flooding and water.