Darren Jones no longer responsible for NISTA oversight

The prime minister’s new chief secretary will no longer be responsible for oversight of the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), the Treasury has confirmed.

Darren Jones, MP for Bristol North West, has been one of Labour’s primary links with the infrastructure and construction sector since the party was in opposition.

When Labour took office last July, he was appointed chief secretary to the Treasury - Rachel Reeves’ number two - and given responsibility for the new government’s infrastructure plans, including the merger of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority and the National Infrastructure Commission to create NISTA.

Last week, as part of a reshuffle triggered by Angela Rayner’s resignation, Jones was promoted to a position in Keir Starmer’s office, as well as being appointed chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, a senior position in the Cabinet Office. 

It was initially unclear, given that NISTA works with both the Treasury and the Cabinet Office, whether Jones would continue to hold responsibility for the agency.

However, the Treasury today confirmed that they would instead be taken up by his successor as chief secretary to the Treasury (CST), James Murray.

>> Read more: A good start but there’s a lot more work to do: road testing the national infrastructure pipeline

“I can confirm that these are CST responsibilities and will remain with the new CST,” a Treasury spokesperson told Building.

Murray is MP for Ealing North and was previously exchequer secretary to the Treasury. Before becoming an MP, he served as Sadiq Khan’s deputy mayor for housing, where he championed a fast-track approach to developers who offered more affordable housing and oversaw the mayor’s own investments in affordable homes.