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New health ministers given responsibility for primary care and nursing

New health ministers Ben Gummer and Alistair Burt will be responsible for nursing and primary care services respectively.

New health ministers Ben Gummer and Alistair Burt will be responsible for nursing and primary care services respectively.

Ben Gummer, the MP for Ipswich since 2010, was appointed parliamentary undersecretary of state for care quality after the election. His brief will include nursing and midwifery, end-of-life care, education, and prison health services. He takes over theses responsibilities from Dr Dan Poulter.

Alistair Burt, the MP for North East Bedfordshire, has been given the role of minister of state for community and social care, where he will be responsible for primary care, as well as GP contracts, out of hours care, mental health, older people, integration and physical and learning disabilities. Some of these responsibilities were previously held by Norman Lamb who was the health and social care minister in the Coalition government.

Writing on twitter, health secretary Jeremy Hunt welcomed the new ministers to their roles, saying: 'Delighted to welcome Alistair Burt and Ben Gummer to the DH, and so pleased to have Jane Ellison and George Freeman.'