DfE appoints two new ministers in wake of Timpson departure
Neil Puffett
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
A former public health minister and a former immigration minister have been appointed to the DfE ministerial team following a government reshuffle.
Anne Milton, who was public health minister before becoming a government whip, and Robert Goodwill, a former immigration minister at the Home Office, have both been made minister of state at the department.
The appointments come after children's minister Edward Timpson lost his seat at the general election and apprenticeships minister Robert Halfon was sacked from his post.
The DfE is yet to confirm the precise portfolios of Milton and Goodwill.
Childcare minister Caroline Dinenage, schools ministers Nick Gibb and Lord Nash, and universities minister Jo Johnson are all currently still in place at the department, although it is yet to be officially confirmed whether they will carry on with their existing briefs.
In February, Goodwill prompted controversy when he announced the government's intention to significantly reduce the number of lone child refugees it plans to accept from Europe under the Dubs scheme.
He said the government was taking the step because councils had run out of capacity, but local authorities blamed the situation on government under-funding.
Prior to his ministerial post at the Home Office, he was a transport minister.
During her time as public health minister between 2010 and 2012, Milton played a central role in government efforts to recruit an additional 4,200 health visitors.
