Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Industry)
Responsibilities
DBT responsibilities to be confirmed.
DESNZ responsibilities include:
- Office For Clean Energy Jobs
- green jobs and skills
- green growth sectors
- energy sector supply chains
- energy infrastructure investments
- industrial decarbonisation and emissions trading, including fuel switching
- carbon leakage
- industrial energy bills
Current role holder
Chris McDonald MP
Chris McDonald MP was appointed Minister for Industry in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) on 11 September 2025.
He was elected as the MP for Stockton North in July 2024.
Education
Chris studied Chemical Engineering at Cambridge, graduating with BA and MEng degrees. He also completed an MBA at the University of Warwick.
Career outside politics
Before becoming an MP Chris spent 20 years working in the steel industry, with a focus on research.
In 2008, he became a laboratory manager within the research division of Tata Steel. In 2014 he led the divestment of the Materials Processing Institute from Tata Steel UK, becoming CEO.
Chris is also a Fellow at the Royal Academy of Engineering.