Following the announcement of the new ministerial team in the Department of Health and Social Care, their specific portfolios have now been released. This will assist BIVDA in targeting the appropriate minister on behalf of members.
Stephen Kinnock has responsibilities for adult social care and primary care, while his colleague, Karin Smyth, has the following portfolio: elective care; workforce, data & tech; NHS capital, land and estates; medicines; NHS finances; MHRA; NHSE.
Andrew Gwynne, with whom BIVDA held a diagnostics roundtable in 2022 when he held the Shadow post, will cover health protection, health improvement, international, major and long-term conditions, and UKHSA as Public Health and Prevention Minister.
The peer in the team, Baroness Merron, has responsibility for patient voice and patient experience, patient safety, mental health, research, life sciences and innovation (incl. genomics), HRA and CQCs, which aligns with her Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health Minister brief.
Few other ministers related to BIVDA’s work have been given portfolios as yet. However, Sarah Jones in the Department of Business and Trade will work on industry and decarbonisation, while in the Treasury, Lord Livermore will focus on growth, productivity, innovation, industrial strategy, digital, investment on behalf of Chancellor, Rachel Reeves.
