Bradshaw assumes NPfIT minister's mantle

Replaces Lord Hunt

Ben Bradshaw MP is the new minister of state in charge of the NHS IT programme.

His role as minister of state for health services was announced by the Department of Health (DoH) on 20 July. It sees him take over responsibility for Connecting for Health and the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) from Lord Philip Hunt, who moved to the Ministry of Justice in June.

MP for Exeter, Bradshaw joined the DoH in the government's recent reshuffle. He was previously minister for local environment, marine and animal welfare at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), having initially joined Defra in June 2003 as nature conservation and fisheries minister.

He was appointed parliamentary secretary for the Privy Council in May 2002 following his role as parliamentary under secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Trained as a journalist, Bradshaw worked on the Express & Echo in Exeter before spending three years at BBC Radio Devon. In 1989 he was appointed the BBC's Berlin correspondent and in 1991 returned to Britain to work as a reporter and presenter for Radio 4's World at One and World This Weekend programmes.

This article was originally published at Kablenet.

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