Conservative MP Sam Gyimah has been confirmed as the government minister responsible for childcare and early years. Gyimah has been a Conservative MP for East Surrey since May 2010.
Gyimah, who represents the constituency of East Surrey, announced the news on social network site Twitter this morning. Confirmation of his brief comes almost a week after he was appointed as under secretary of state at the Department for Education (DfE).Berkshire-born Gyimah takes over from former childcare minister Elizabeth Truss, who was promoted to Environment Secretary as part of a Cabinet reshuffle last Tuesday.Gyimah was elected to parliament in May 2010 and was appointed as parliamentary private secretary to Prime Minister David Cameron in September 2012 before becoming a government whip in October 2013.
The 37-year-old studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University and began a career in the business sector after gaining a place on a graduate scheme at investment bank Goldman Sachs.A spokesman for the DfE confirmed that Gyimah will be responsible for the childcare brief and said the length of time between last week’s reshuffle and today’s announcement was “completely normal” despite concerns from the sector.On Friday, the Pre-school Learning Alliance and the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (Pacey), expressed their concerns at the delay and warned that it could suggest that childcare does not figure highly in the government’s future plans. -
Full story courtesy of CYP
