Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection)
Kate Dearden MP
Biography
Kate Dearden was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Business and Trade on 7 September 2025.
She was previously Assistant Whip, House of Commons between 18 July 2024 and 7 September 2025. She was elected as the MP for Halifax in July 2024. She studied for MA (Hons) International Relations at the University of Edinburgh and also previously worked for Community, a trade union.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection)
Responsibilities include:
- employment rights
- labour market enforcement
- consumer protection and competition policy
- retail and hospitality
- consumer goods
- product safety
- Department Corporate Minister
Public bodies:
- Low Pay Commission
- Competition and Markets Authority
- Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas)
- British Hallmarking Council
- Competition Service
- Groceries Code Adjudicator
- Pubs Code Adjudicator
- Competition Appeal Tribunal
- Central Arbitration Committee
- Certification Officer