Ministerial appointments round-up

Amber Rudd

Home Secretary

Appointed 13 July 2016, elected for Hastings and Rye in 2010

Overall responsibility for all Home Office business, including:

• security and terrorism
• legislative programme
• expenditure issues

Biography:

• Member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, 2010 to 2012
• Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 2012 to 2013
• Assistant Whip, from October 2013
• Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Energy and Climate Change, July 2014 until May 2015
• Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, May 2015 until July 2016
• previous career in investment banking and venture capital

Brandon Lewis MP

Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service

Appointed 15 July 2016, elected for Great Yarmouth in 2010

Supports the work of the Home Office on Policing and the Fire Service.

Note: this role was previously the Minister for Policing, Fire and Criminal Justice and Victims, working across both the Home Office and Ministry of Justice.

Biography:

• Minister of State for Housing and Planning at the Department for Communities and Local Government from July 2014 until July 2016
• Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government from September 2012 until July 2014
• qualified barrister

Ben Wallace MP

Minister of State for Security

Appointed 17 July 2016, elected for new constituency of Wyre and Preston North in 2010 (previously MP for Lancaster and Wyre from 2005 to 2010)

Responsible for:

• counter-terrorism
• investigatory powers
• Northern Ireland-related terrorism
• serious and organised crime
• Home Office science
• security exports
• small and medium enterprise
• reducing regulation

Biography:

• Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office from May 2015 to July 2016
• Government whip from July 2014 to May 2015
• MP for Lancaster and Wyre from 2005 to 2010 
• MSP for North East Scotland from 1999 to 2003
• previously a Director for QinetiQ following a career as a commissioned officer in the Scots Guards

Robert Goodwill MP

Minister of State for Immigration

Appointed 15 July 2016, elected for Scarborough and Whitby in 2005

Responsible for:

• immigration policy/legislation
• EU
• Her Majesty’s Passport Office
• asylum
• Border Force
• immigration enforcement
• individual case decisions
• UK Visas and Immigration
• extradition and mutual legal assistance (MLA)

Biography:

• Minister of State at the Department for Transport from December 2015 until July 2016
• Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Transport from October 2013 to December 2015
• Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury from 2012 to 2013
• Shadow Roads Minister 2007
• MEP from 1999 to 2004
• farmer

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Minister of State

Appointed 17 July 2016, raised to peerage in 2013

 Biography:

• Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government from May 2015 until July 2016
• Member of Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council between 1998 and 2011, serving as leader of the Conservative group between 2002 and 2009 and as Council Leader between 2004 and 2009
• previously Director of the North West Rail Campaign and executive director of Atlantic Gateway
• Chair (North West) of the Heritage Lottery Fund between 2011 and 2012
• non-executive director of the North West Development Agency between 2007 and 2011
• also served on the board of the Central Salford Urban Regeneration Company and the Greater Manchester Police Authority

Sarah Newton MP

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Vulnerability, Safeguarding and Countering Extremism

Appointed 17 July 2016, elected for Truro and Falmouth in 2010

 Biography:

• Assistant Government Whip from May 2015 until July 2016
• Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2012 to 2015
• previously founder of the International Longevity Centre
• Director of Age Concern England in early 1990s
• worked from American Express for six years
• initial career in marketing within financial services sector

Baroness Shields OBE

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Internet Safety and Security (unpaid)

First appointed at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 13 May 2015, becoming joint Minister at the Home Office on 3 December 2015. Raised to peerage in 2014

Responsible for:

• making the internet a safer place for children by curbing online abuse, exploitation, bullying and access to harmful content
• working to remove terrorist, radicalising, and extremist content from the internet
• promoting safe, open access to the internet for everyone

Biography:

• previously David Cameron’s Digital Advisor and CEO of Tech City UK
• led a UK/US taskforce to combat online child sexual exploitation (CSE) from 2013 to 2015
• launched WeProtect, a global initiative protecting children from CSE in 2014
• previous career in Silicon Valley holding a variety of senior executive roles including most recently as ice President and Managing Director of Facebook Europe, Middle East and Africa
• joint UK / US citizen

Elizabeth Truss MP

Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary

Appointed 14 July 2016, elected for South West Norfolk in 2010

Overall responsibility for Ministry of Justice business, including:

• making improvements to the criminal justice and prison system
• lead on prison and courts reforms
• departmental expenditure
• judicial policy including pay, pensions and diversity
• tackling extremism policy

Biography:

• Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from July 2014 until July 2016
• Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Education and Childcare in September 2012
• previously Deputy Director of Reform
• previous career within energy and telecomms industry
• qualified management accountant

Sir Oliver Heald QC MP

Minister of State for Courts and Justice

Appointed 16 July 2016, elected for North East Hertfordshire in 1992

Responsible for:

• court reform, efficiency, regulation and control
• court policy, reform and improvement
• court process including HMCTS, magistrates, tribunals and legal aid
• British Bill of Rights, human rights (inc prisoner voting rights)
• EU and international business
• problem solving and specialist courts

Biography:

• Solicitor General (Attorney General’s Office) from September 2012 until July 2014
• member of the UK Delegation to the Council of Europe from 2008 to 2012
• Minister in the Department of Social Security from 1995 to 1997
• Opposition briefs included Home Affairs, Health, Work and Pensions, Constitutional Affairs and Shadow Leader of the House
• called to the bar in 1977

Sam Gyimah MP

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Prisons and Probation

Appointed 17 July 2016, elected for East Surrey in 2010

Responsible for:

• prison and probation service reform
• prison operations and population
• offender employment, education and rehabilitation
• public protection and offender management
• prison and probation monitoring bodies, including HMI Prisons, HMI Probation, PPO and IMBs
• sentencing
• electronic monitoring

Biography:

• Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education from May 2015 until July 2016
• Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office from July 2014 until March 2015
• Government Whip from October 2013 to July 2014
• Parliamentary Private Secretary to Prime Minister David Cameron from 2012 to 2013
• previous career within finance and entrepreneurship

Dr Phillip Lee MP

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Victims, Youth and Family Justice

Appointed 17 July 2016, elected for Bracknell in 2010

 Responsible for:

• victims and witnesses policy
• miscarriages of justice
• offender health and mental health
• substance misuse
• youth custodial estate and youth sentencing
• female offenders
• restorative justice
• devolution deals and devolved administrations

Biography:

• worked as a GP for over a decade
• qualified as a doctor in 1999

Lord Keen of Elie QC

HM Advocate General for Scotland and MoJ spokesperson for the Lords

Appointed Advocate General for Scotland in May 2015 and MoJ spokesperson in July 2016

Responsible for:

• one of the Law Officers of the Crown, who advise the government on Scots law
• intervention, on behalf of the UK government, in proceedings in which devolution issues have been raised if required

Biography:

• Lords Spokesperson for the Home Office from April until July 2016
• Chairman of the Scottish Conservative party from 2014 to 2015
• Dean of the Faculty of Advocates (leader of the Scottish Bar) from 2007 until 2014
• called to the bar of England and Wales in 2009
• appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1993