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Home , Alex Burghart, Amanda Solloway, Amber Rudd, Bim Afolami, Caroline Dinenage, Chris Philp

A guide to the Government for BIA members

Correct as of 1 July 2021

This is a briefing for BIA members on the Government led by and key ministerial appointments for our sector following the appointment of the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and other recent changes.

The Government currently holds a majority of 82 seats in the House of Commons. The life sciences sector is high on the Government’s agenda and Boris Johnson has pledged to make the UK “the leading global hub for life sciences after ”. With its strong majority, the Government has the power to enact the policies supportive of the sector in the Conservatives 2019 Manifesto. All in all, this indicates a positive outlook for life sciences during this Government’s tenure.

Contents: Ministerial and policy maker positions in the new Government relevant to the life sciences sector ...... 2 Ministers and policy maker profiles ...... 7

Ministerial and policy maker positions in the new Government relevant to the life sciences sector*

*Please note that this guide only covers ministers and responsibilities relevant to the life sciences and will be updated as further roles and responsibilities are announced.

Department Position Holder Relevant responsibility Holder in previous government Number 10 Prime Minister Boris Johnson MP Boris Johnson MP Prime Minister’s Chief of Dan Rosenfield Senior aid to the Prime Minister Staff PPS to the Prime Minister MP and Trudy Alex Burghart MP Harrison MP Director of No10 Policy Unit Adviser to the Prime Minister on Munira Mirza overall Government policy Special Adviser to Prime James Phillips R&D Policy Minister and Business Secretary Special Adviser to the Prime Will Warr Health policy Will Warr Minister: Health and Social Care Chancellor of the Duchy of MP Advising the Prime Minister on Michael Gove MP Lancaster developing and implementing Government policy; committees and implementation taskforces (including no-deal preparation;

overseeing devolution

consequences of EU exit) PPS to the Chancellor of the MP Kevin Hollinrake MP Duchy of Lancaster

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HM Treasury Chancellor of the Exchequer MP MP

Joint Economic Unit Liam Booth-Smith, Co-ordinating economic policy between No10 and HMT Douglas McNeill, between Number 10 and the (established after the Feb Nerissa Chesterfield, Treasury; budget policy; media and 2020 reshuffle) comms Cass Horowitz, Rupert Yorke, Lisa Lovering, James Nation

PPS to the Chancellor MP MP Chief Secretary to the MP Public expenditure including capital Rishi Sunak MP Treasury investment; tax credits Financial Secretary MP Strategic oversight of the UK tax Jesse Norman MP system including direct, indirect, business, property and personal taxation; corporate and small business taxation; European and international tax issues Exchequer Secretary to the MP UK growth and productivity; Simon Clarke MP Treasury including Industrial Strategy; and Midlands Engine; promoting UK as a destination for foreign direct investment (non-financial services) and the Patient Capital Review Economic Secretary to the MP Financial conduct, including John Glen MP Treasury and relationship with the FCA; EU exit financial services; Bank lending and access to finance

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Business, Energy and Secretary of State for MP MP Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Special Advisor to the Celia McSwaine Policy and media Natasha Adkins Business Secretary Special Advisor to the Cameron Brown Policy and media Samantha Magnus Business Secretary PPS to the Business MP MP Secretary Parliamentary Under MP Vaccine Taskforce; Nadhim Zahawi MP Secretary of State (Minister and investment; sector lead for life for Business and Industry; sciences; Covid Vaccine deployment Minister for COVID Vaccine Deployment) Parliamentary Under MP Science; research; innovation; MP (was Secretary of State (Minister industrial strategy delivery; sector ) for Science, Research and lead for intellectual property, Innovation) maritime, space and technology. Parliamentary Under Lord Callanan Lords lead on all BEIS issues; Lord Duncan of Secretary of State (Minister corporate governance; better Springbank for Business, Energy and regulation and regulatory reform Corporate Responsibility) Department of Health and Secretary of State for Sajid Javid MP MP Social Care Health and Social Care Special Adviser to the Emma Dean Advising the Health Secretary Richard Sloggett Health Secretary across his brief Special Adviser to the Damon Media Adviser Jamie Njoku-Goodwin Health Secretary Special Adviser to the Allan Nixon Parliamentary liaison Allan Nixon Health Secretary BIA member briefing Page 4

PPS to the Health Secretary MP MP PPS to the Ministerial Team Virginia Crosbie MP James Cartlidge MP Minister of State (Minister MP COVID 19: NHS workforce and MP for Care) and trace; adult social care; health/care integration; workforce Minister of State (Minister MP COVID: NHS resilience and supply Edward Argar MP for Health) (ventilators); EU future relationship and trade; NHS operational performance Parliamentary Under MP COVID: supply (PPE) and vaccine Jo Churchill MP Secretary of State (Minister deployment; health improvement; for Prevention, Public health inequalities; prevention; Health and Primary Care) primary care; major diseases Minister of State (Minister MP COVID: Test and trace, social Nadine Dorries MP for Mental Health, Suicide distancing; Mental health; patient Prevention and Patient safety and experience; NHS Safety) litigation; sponsorship of CQC and NHS Resolution Parliamentary Under- Lord Bethell of Romford COVID: treatments and vaccines; Baroness Blackwood Secretary of State (Minister Life sciences; medicines; research; for Innovation) rare diseases; anti-microbial resistance; global health security Department for Secretary of State for MP Liz Truss MP International Trade International Trade Special Advisor to the Trade Adam Jones, Policy and Comms Kane Daniell Secretary Sophie Jarvis, Jamie Hope PPS to the Trade Secretary David Duguid MP MP

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Minister of State for Trade MP Export controls; FTAs with USA, MP Policy Australia, New Zealand, Japan; engagement with WTO; UK tariff policy

Minister for Investment Lord Grimstone of Boscobel Investment strategy; promoting Graham Stuart MP Kt investment across all sectors; promoting FDI and portfolio investment in the UK Secretary of State for CBE MP MP Education Special Advisor to the Iain Mansfield, Policy and Comms Katherine Howell Education Secretary Angus Walker Minister of State for MP Academic research and education Chris Skidmore MP (held Universities (‘Science and Universities’ brief now ‘Science and Universities’ split between BEIS and DfE) brief across BEIS and DfE) Parliamentary Under Gillian Keegan MP Apprenticeships and skills (held brief as Secretary of State (Minister Minister) for Apprenticeships and Skills

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Key ministers and policymaker profiles

Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP - Prime Minister

Boris Johnson led the Conservative party to a major victory in the 2019 General Election. His manifesto has pledged to make the UK a leading global hub for life sciences, which he calls an industry of the future. He also promises to “unlock long-term capital in pension funds to invest in and commercialise our scientific discoveries” and expand R&D tax credits to include data, something the BIA has long advocated for. The BIA published analysis of each major party’s manifesto before the 2019 General Election.

His first speech as PM in July 2019 praised the UK’s “extraordinary bioscience sector” and highlighted the life sciences and academia as strengths of the economy. He mentioned a new gene therapy to treat the most common form of blindness, which, though he didn’t name them, has been developed by Gyroscope and Orbit Biomedical, both BIA members. The speech gave several reasons to be hopeful for beneficial policies for the life sciences sector, and suggests a strong influence from individuals like George Freeman MP, Sir John Bell and Will Warr (see below).

Johnson spoke at the BIA UK Bioscience Forum in 2013 when Mayor of and, in 2014, launched MedCity, which aimed to support London and the south east becoming the world’s life sciences capital. As an MP he has not made the sector a key focus of his work but has written about gene therapies in his Telegraph column and has backed greater NHS spending. BIA members GSK and MSD are based in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency.

William Warr – Special Adviser to the Prime Minister for Health, Social Care, Life Sciences, Technology & AI

Together with Sir John Bell, William wrote the UK's Life Science Industrial Strategy. He has been involved in implementing initiatives launched through the strategy since then and also working for ’s political consultancy, which has been running Boris Johnson’s campaigns for many years. He also briefly worked in ’s Policy Implementation Unit in 2015.

His appointment to advise the Prime Minister suggests Johnson believes in the industrial strategy approach of the previous administration and bodes well for the life sciences sector. Warr is close to the BIA – Steve Bates was on John Bell’s advisory board for the strategy and attended a BIA roundtable late last year.

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Warr was awarded a PhD in 2019 for his work at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of . He studied policy at Cambridge University and at Durham. He is also a keen rower and was the first person in 188 years to row for both Oxford and Cambridge boat race teams.

Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP - Chancellor of the Exchequer

Rishi Sunak was promoted to Chancellor from his role as Chief Secretary to the Treasury immediately after Sajid Javid’s surprise resignation during the February 2020 Cabinet reshuffle. Having only been MP since 2014 and on the frontbench since 2018, he has progressed quickly and is relatively unknown. His appoinment has been reported as a ‘power grab’ by No 10 and there is speculation that Johnson and Cummings largely dictate the policies of the Treasury. They have established A Joint Economic Unit of special advisers between No 10 and the Treasury, covering areas such as budget policy, in which the staff reports to Johnson and Cummings. Before being Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Sunak was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing from 2018 to 2019 and Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 2017 to 2018. His constituency of Richmond (Yorks) has no life sciences industry. The Chancellor is loyal to Boris Johnson and was one of the 188 Tory rebels who voted against May’s government to oppose extending Article 50 in March 2019. Sunak comes from a busines background, having co-founded an investment firm and worked as an analyst for as well as various hedge funds. He holds a BA in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University and an MBA from . Sunak is married to the daughter of Indian billionaire and co-founder of Infosys, N. R. Narayana Murthy.

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Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP - Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Kwasi Kwarteng was appointed Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on in January 2021 as part of a mini reshuffle. He replaced Alok Sharma.

Prior to his appointment as Secretary of State, Kwarteng was Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth. As Business Secretary, Kwarteng’s department was responsible for co-developing the Government’s new Life Sciences Vision which sets to build on the UK’s world leading biotech and life sciences sector, harnessing the UK’s advantages in genomics, data and research, as well as building on the UK’s world-leading response to the COVID-19 pandemic in vaccines development and manufacturing, therapies and diagnostics.

Before entering politics, Kwarteng worked as a columnist for and as a financial analyst at JP Morgan Chase and other investment banks. He is also the author of Ghosts of Empire which was published in 2011 about the legacy of the .

Kwarteng has an MA in classics and history and a PhD in British history from Cambridge University. He has been MP for Spelthorne since May 2010.

Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP – Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Sajid Javid was appointed as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in June 2021 following the resignation of Matt Hancock. Javid was formerly Chancellor in Boris Johnson’s first Cabinet but resigned unexpectedly during the reshuffle in February 2020 and has been on the back benches since then. Between April 2018 and July 2019 Javid held the position of in ’s administration following the resignation of . In this role, Javid lifted the cap on immigration for NHS doctors and nurses. He was also Business Secretary in the Cameron years, during which time he was reported to not be supportive of industrial strategy and Innovate UK saw its budget decrease.

On appointment as Health Secretary, Javid insisted that getting the country out of the pandemic was his “most immediate priority”. In his first statement in Parliament in the new role, Javid affirmed his commitment to following the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown.

Javid has BA in Politics and Economics from Exeter University and spent his pre-parliamentary career working in the banking sector. He been the MP for since 2010.

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Amanda Solloway MP - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Science, Research and Innovation

Amanda Solloway was promoted to Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Science, Research and Innovation in the February 2020 reshuffle. She first became an MP in 2015 when she won North from Labour by 41 votes. In the 2017 General Election, she narrowly lost the seat, before regaining it again in 2019 with an increased majority.

Following her promotion in February 2020, Solloway said that the “ has long been a leader in the field of life sciences and technology, discovering penicillin and inventing the telephone and the World Wide Web”. She also said that “Being chosen to help steer the United Kingdom, and keep us at the top of our game, is both a privilege and a great responsibility. I am looking forward to it.”

Outside of politics, Solloway has held variety of roles in the management, retail and not-for-profit sectors. After she lost her seat in 2017, she worked as a consultant.

Ministers for the life sciences

The responsibilities for the life sciences continue to be split between health and business department ministers. This is centrally coordinated by the Office for Life Sciences.

Lord Bethell of Romford, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care

James Bethell was appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in March 2020 after Baroness Blackwood resigned at the reshuffle in February.

He is a hereditary peer and joined as a Conservative member of the in 2018, where he has been serving as Lord in Waiting (a government whip) since 2019. In the 2005 General Election, Bethell contested the constituency of Tooting where he lost to .

Bethell has no known experience with the life sciences sector, and little is known about his position on it. During a February 2020 Lords reading of the NHS Funding Bill, he expressed strong support for increased NHS funding and called it, “our most vital and valued public service.” He also said that extra funding “will allow the NHS to invest in innovative technology such as genomics and artificial intelligence, to create more precise, more personalised and more effective treatments.”

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Prior to his political career, Lord Bethell has worked as a reporter for and been Managing Director for Ministry of Sound from 1993 to 2001. He has also worked at Westbourne Communications for almost ten years and for four months.

Nadhim Zahawi MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Nadhim Zahawi MP was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in July 2019, taking over the responsibilities for life sciences and sector deals. Zahawi is also the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Covid Vaccine Deployment.

In his current role, Zahawi is responsible for the COVID-19 vaccination programme. He has also met with the BIA’s CEO Steve Bates multiple times and delivered the keynote speech at the BIA’s Gala Dinner in January 2020.

He was previously Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education from January 2018 until July 2019. Zahawi was elected as MP for Stratford-upon- in 2010. He sat on the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee from 2010 to 2015 and was intermittently on the Foreign Affairs Committee from 2014 until 2018.

Before entering Parliament, Zahawi was Chief Executive of the polling company YouGov between 2005 and 2010, and was one of its founder executives. In addition to his parliamentary and ministerial roles, Zahawi is Chief Strategy Officer of Gulf Keystone Petroleum. He also previously held marketing rolls, including for Smith & Brooks.

Zahawi has long association with Conservative politics, having been a Councillor in Wandsworth from 1994 to 2006. He stood as the Conservative candidate for Erith and Thamesmead in 1997, losing to Labour. He also worked with former Conservative politician, Lord Archer – during his campaign to become in 1998. He also worked with Lord Archer during the ‘Simple Truth’ campaign in 1991 to raise funds for Kurdish victims of the first .

Zahawi was born in , and moved with his parents at the age of nine to the UK in 1976 to escape ’s rule. He has a degree in Chemical Engineering from University London.

For additional information please contact Martin Turner, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, at [email protected] or 020 7630 2197.

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