The first cracks in Gordon Brown’s reorganisation of Whitehall departments emerged last night with confusion over who has responsibility for anti-social behaviour.

While the Prime Minister was putting the finishing touches to his ministerial teams, civil servants were struggling with how to implement his Whitehall shake-up.

Mr Brown has created three new ministries, scrapped one and tinkered with several others but the number of Cabinet ministers has actually gone down from 23 to 22. As name plates were once again moved at the Department for Trade and Industry Mr Brown was accused of wasting taxpayers’ money. Neither the Treasury nor No 10 could put a figure on how much the changes would cost or say if the number of civil servants would rise or fall.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is abolished with no replacement for John Prescott and Tessa Jowell moves out of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to become Olympics Minister in the Cabinet Office with a small private staff.

Gordon Brown's Black Wednesday

The Northern Rock disaster has torn away any remaining credibility the Prime Minister had

BACKGROUND

• Sorry story tests Gordon to the limit

• Gordon, how wonderful, wise and talented am I?

• Brown’s brain and his hand are not always connected

• How 'cruel' schooling scarred Brown

The most radical change will be splitting the Education Department and giving Ed Balls responsibility for schools, children, teenagers, and probably antisocial behaviour.

Mr Balls who will head the new Department for Children, Schools and Families, will keep schools, Sure Start and nursery provision. He will also keep the 14-19 reform agenda and set the overall spending and curriculum for further education colleges. But education officials said Mr Balls would also take the “respect” agenda from the Home Office including “antisocial behaviour and Asbo’s”.

Overseeing the Youth Justice Board would be shared between the DCSF and the Justice Ministry, he said.

But the Home Office initially denied Asbo’s would go to Mr Balls. Later an official said: “You will have to consult No 10. Only Gordon Brown knows.”

Mr Balls will also share responsibility for obese children with the health department and work with the Department for Work and Pensions to cut child poverty.

The Tories yesterday seized on the confusion over Asbos. “It appears that some significant and pressing issues may have been lost in the confusion of Gordon Brown’s reshuffle,” said a Tory spokesman. “His attempts to control Whitehall through pointless reorganisation means that critical issues like Asbos are already falling through the cracks.”

Times Recommends

• Time-worn Freddie gives up Test matches
• Brighton company 'involved in cyber attack'
• The art of survival: it’s all in the mind