New Ministers for carers

Minister for Carers Ivan Lewis MP has left the Department of Health to join the Department for International Development. He is replaced by Phil Hope MP who was previously Minister for the Third Sector at the Cabinet Office.

Hope will be a Minister of State which is a more senior level than Ivan Lewis who was Parliamentary under-Secretary of State, the lowest rung on the ministerial ladder. This should help raise the profile and clout of carers and social care issues across Government.

Phil Hope is a former teacher, youth leader, management and community work consultant and was a councillor in Kettering and Northamptonshire before becoming MP for Corby in 1997.

The Minister for Disabled People, who has responsibility for carers’ benefits, will now be Jonathan Shaw MP. He replaces Anne McGuire MP who held the role since 2005. Shaw was previously a junior Minister at the Department Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.  

Carers UK will be writing to both Ministers and requesting meetings as soon as possible. We will be urging them to keep up the momentum on carers’ issues following the publication of the National Carers Strategy, and ensuring that they have a good understanding of the outstanding issues. In particular we will be telling them that carers’ benefits need urgent reform and that carers can’t wait ten years for the real changes they need.

Other new Ministers who we will be contacting are Tony McNulty MP who replaces Stephen Timms MP as Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform, Rosie Winterton MP who replaces Mike O’Brien as Minister of State for Pensions Reform and Maria Eagle MP who replaces Barbara Follett MP as Parliamentary Secretary in the Government Equalities Office.

Barbara Keeley MP, Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Carers, also has her first Government job as she becomes an Assistant Government Whip.