Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was created by the Gordon Brown premiership on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. It was disbanded by the Theresa May premiership on the creation of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 14 July 2016.

Secretaries of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
The Permanent Secretary was Sir Martin Donnelly.

Responsibilities
Some policies apply to England alone due to devolution, while others are not devolved and therefore apply to other nations of the United Kingdom. The department was responsible for UK Government policy in the following areas:
 * business regulation and support
 * company law
 * competition
 * consumer affairs
 * corporate governance
 * employment relations
 * export licensing
 * further education
 * higher education
 * innovation
 * insolvency
 * intellectual property
 * outer space
 * postal affairs
 * regional and local economic development
 * science and research
 * skills
 * trade
 * training

Devolution
Economic policy is mostly devolved but several important policy areas are reserved to Westminster. Further and higher education policy is mostly devolved. Reserved and excepted matters are outlined below.

Scotland

Reserved matters:


 * Competition
 * Customer protection
 * Import and export control
 * Insolvency
 * Intellectual property
 * Outer space
 * Postal services
 * Product standards, safety and liability
 * Research councils
 * Telecommunications
 * Time
 * Business associations
 * Weights and measures in relation to goods

The Scottish Government Economy and Education Directorates handle devolved economic and further and higher education policy respectively.

Northern Ireland

Reserved matters:
 * Consumer safety in relation to goods
 * Import and export controls, external trade
 * Intellectual property
 * Postal services
 * Telecommunications
 * Units of measurement

Excepted matter:
 * outer space

The department's main counterparts are:
 * Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (general economic policy)
 * Department for Employment and Learning (employment relations, further and higher education policy)

Wales

Under the Welsh devolution settlement, specific policy areas are transferred to the Welsh Government rather than reserved to Westminster.