There was confusion today as it emerged that the new housing minister is not Mark Francois  but Brandon Lewis, who continues in his role as Minister of State for Housing and Planning.

According to the latest government update, Francois is a CLG minister. It is not clear what his responsibilities are.

Yesterday’s announcement of Francois’s appointment was made in error, said CLG.

A former infantry officer in the Territorial Army, Francois was vice-chairman of a local authority housing committee in the early nineties.

Francois, 49, is the MP for the Essex constituency of Rayleigh and Wickford. He was Minister of State for the Armed Forces under the coalition government.

This morning, Lewis updated his Twitter account to show that he was still Minister for Housing and Planning, a post to which he was first appointed last July and which was not a cabinet position.

Lewis is MP for Great Yarmouth.

Prime minister David Cameron announced yesterday Greg Clark as the new Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, replacing Eric Pickles.