Lord Prior of Brampton
On 21 December 2016, Lord Prior of Brampton (David Prior) was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with responsibilities including construction, where he took over from Jess Norman.
He previously served as Member of Parliament for North Norfolk from 1997 to 2001 and went on to become deputy chairman and CEO of the Conservative Party. He is now a Conservative member of the House of Lords.
He was Department of Health as Minister for NHS Productivity from May 2015 until December 2016 and was also on the Commons Select Committee for Trade and Industry.
He is the son of former Cabinet minister Jim Prior, who died in 2016.
His wide-ranging responsibilities include:
- Industrial strategy
- Lords lead on all BEIS issues
- Industrial policy (with the Minister of State for Climate Change and Industry)
- technology
- infrastructure
- construction
- professional services
- rail supply chain
- defence
- maritime
- Life sciences
- EU single market
- deregulation and regulatory reform
- Land Registry
- Ordnance Survey
- Companies House
- Corporate minister
Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders, Brian Berry, said: “We welcome the appointment of Lord Prior, whose combination of political and professional experience should leave him well placed to forge the strong, collaborative relationship that is needed between industry and Government."
In October 2017, Lord Prior was replaced as Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) by The Rt Hon. the Lord Henley (Oliver Eden).
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Chief planner.
- Construction 2025.
- Construction industry reports.
- Construction Leadership Council.
- Construction minister.
- Digital Built Britain.
- Farmer Review 2016: Modernise or die.
- Government Construction Board.
- Government Construction Pipeline.
- Government Construction Strategy 2011 2015.
- Government Construction Strategy 2016 2020.
- Housing minister.
- Infrastructure and Projects Authority.
- National Infrastructure Delivery Plan 2016-2021.
- National Infrastructure Pipeline.
- National Infrastructure Plan.
- National Needs Assessment NNA.
Featured articles and news
We're expanding our collaborative mission by launching DB Intelligence, an exclusive market research advisory panel. Built environment professionals can now get paid to share their expertise on industry trends, products and services.
Panel members receive direct financial incentives for participating in research projects like short surveys, 1-2-1 interviews and focus groups. Register today to shape the future of the construction sector.
Planning condition discharge in England and Wales
A brief exoplanation from a building compliance expert, with further links.
Overheating guidance and tools for building designers
Guidance for dealing with element of building fabric control that have increasing importance.
Shading for housing, a design guide
From the Good Homes Alliance and British Blind and Shutter Association.
UK Standard Skills Classification (SSC)
A shared framework for describing skills needs.
Social media ban consultation comes to close
CIOB urges UK Government to consider social media’s role in careers guidance in ban debate.
The latest of eight Skills England apprenticeship units
The addition of battery manufacturing welcomed by ECA with a warning about the risks of fast-tracked apprenticeship units.
Building Control Independent Panel final report
A precis of a key report led by Dame Hackitt with full recommendations and link to the government response.
Building Safety recap April, 2026
A short and longer run-through of the month, with links to further information and sources.
CIAT May 2026 briefing.
From medieval scribes to modern word art.
ECA welcomes crackdown on late payment and push for clean energy, whilst CIOB seek fixed cladding removal timeframes.
Cyber Security in the Built Environment
Protecting projects, data, and digital assets: A CIOB Academy TIS.
Managing competence in the built environment
ITFG publishes new industry guide on how to meet the ICC principles.
The UK's campaign to reduce noise pollution: Mythbusting, articles and topic guides.