Government denies small business minister role has been scrapped

A government position which included responsibility for the hospitality industry has been merged into a wider ministerial role.

The minister for small business, consumers and labour market position was held by Paul Scully from 2020 to 2022 and Jane Hunt for several months this year. Its remit included hospitality, weddings, nightclubs, and pubs, among others.

The post is over a decade old, and at one point the minister attended cabinet.

But the position is no longer filled, and the role has been incorporated into the remit for minister for enterprise and markets, which oversees 16 areas.

This wider post is held by Dean Russell, the Conservative MP for Watford and former vice chair of the Herts Federation of Small Business.

A government spokesperson denied the small business minister role had been scrapped and said Russell's role included the same remit.

However, one senior business leader told The Times the move was a "kick in the teeth for small business owners" and was a "strange" decision for the government.

"It sends a signal to 5.5m small firms that now have no dedicated minister for the first time since the last Labour government," the source said.

Scully's tenure overseeing the hospitality brief saw him meet with petitioners calling for a dedicated minister for hospitality and co-chair a hospitality council to support the recovery of the sector.

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