The Rt Hon Matthew Hancock MP

Political Career

2010 – Present Member of Parliament, West Suffolk

2010 - 2012 Member, Public Accounts Committee

2010 - 2012 Member, Standards and Privileges Committee

2012 – 2013 Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State,

Department for Business, Innovation &

Skills Party: Conservative 2013 - 2014 Minister of State, Department for

Business, Innovation & Skills and Constituency: Department for Education West Suffolk 2014 – 2015 Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation & Skills and Majority: 17,063 Department of Energy & Climate Change 2014 - 2015 Minister of State for Portsmouth Age: 39

2015 - 2016 and Minister for the

Cabinet Office

2016 - 2017 Minister of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport

2017 – 2018 Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

2018 – 2018 Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

2018 - Present Secretary of State for Health & Social Care

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Education : The King’s School, ; West College; BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Exeter College, ; MPhil in Economics, Christ’s College,

Career: Border Business Systems (family business); Analyst, Bank of ; Economics Adviser to

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (2005 – 2010)

Commentary

Matthew Hancock was appointed Secretary of State for Health & Social Care in July 2018, as the “great survivor” moves on to the Foreign Office. Hancock had been serving as Secretary of State for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport since January 2018. Highly rated among Conservative ranks, Hancock has garnered a reputation for being straight-talking, focused and strong, but tends to disguise this behind a generally jovial exterior. His past experiences have been rooted in financial competence, value for money, and utilising technology to unlock social mobility and commerce.

A former economist and one-time Chief of Staff to George Osborne, Hancock has described his top policy interests as "economics, education and racing”. Hancock also has a penchant for vocational education and skills, underlined by his previous Ministerial posts.

Brought up and educated in Cheshire, Hancock began his career working for the family business, Border 0Business Systems, before excelling in the Bank of England’s Monetary Assessment and Strategy Division. He holds degrees from Oxford and Cambridge Universities, having graduated from the former with a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE).

Joining the Conservative Party in 1999, Hancock acted as an agent in the 2001 election and stood as a council candidate. He unsuccessfully attempted to become Conservative PPC for Congleton before winning the Suffolk West selection – a process he won by a mere seven votes. It was during this period that Hancock developed his political capital under the wing of the then Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, serving as his Economic Adviser and then Chief of Staff until the Conservatives entered office in 2010.

Hancock was elected to the Public Accounts Committee shortly after entering Parliament at the 2010 General Election. He expressed at the time that he had sought this position because of the increased importance of the Committee's work to improve value for money in the public sector given the need to cut the deficit. This is unlikely to have radically changed – Hancock has an instinct for keeping things tight at budget level (further proven by a short stint as Paymaster General in 2016), an attribute we should take seriously as he takes the reins in implementing the long-term funding settlement for the NHS.

Under 's administration, Hancock cemented his reputation in further education and apprenticeships at the former Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) and Department for Education, a flagship policy area for the Government. Indeed, his varied roles as Minister of State in the Cameron years, looping in the remits of different Departments, underlines his reputation for being a bright, energetic workhorse in who could engage effectively with civil servants and stakeholders on a variety of different policy issues. Hancock attended Cabinet between May and July 2016 as part of a special, additional brief to drive through efficiencies in the Civil Service, before became Prime Minister. He was out of the Cabinet

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between July 2016 and January 2018, serving as Digital Minister before replacing as Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary.

One of the new generation of Minsters who does not take himself too seriously, Hancock has demonstrated a daring nature and willingness to embrace innovation. A combination of both was aptly illustrated by the infamous Matt Hancock App, launched in February 2018 as a novel method to combine digital connectivity with accountability of MPs to their local constituents. Though subjected to a degree of mockery at the time - this penchant for innovation, connectivity and forward thinking is something he will likely channel into NHS modernisation and acceleration of the digital agenda.

Having focused extensively on finance, digital, skills and business – Hancock does not sport any previous activity on the health and social care front. In 2011, he took part in an Opposition Day debate and voted against Labour’s proposition to drop the controversial Health and Social Care Bill, as well as rejecting cross- party talks on reforming NHS commissioning. This likely demonstrates party and government loyalty, with an eye on his future career, however.

Hancock is married and has three young children. He is the first MP in modern times to win a horse race, having emerged victorious at his local Newmarket July Course in August 2012. He is an avid cricketer and plays for the Lords & Commons Cricket team. He is a founder and trustee of the Dom Pardey Charitable Trust - an organisation that supports young men who have suffered from a debilitating stroke.

July 2018

Sources

• DeHavilland PeoplePoint • https://www.parliament.uk/biographies/commons/matt-hancock/4070 • https://twitter.com/DianaJohnsonMP • https://www.conservatives.com/OurTeam/Members-of-Parliament/Hancock-Matthew • https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2018/07/matt-hancock-gets-serious-as-new-health-secretary/ • https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/politics/breaking-matt-hancock-replaces-jeremy-hunt-as-health- secretary/7025204.article • https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2011/october1/opposition-day-debate-on-the-national-health-

service/ • https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252442738/An-audience-with-Matt-Hancock-secretary-of-state- for-digital-culture-media-and-sport • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42902684 • http://www.itv.com/news/2018-07-09/matt-hancock-follows-jeremy-hunts-path-from-culture-to-health- secretary/

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