He took over from Jeremy Hunt who has been promoted to foreign secretary, replacing Johnson who resigned in protest at prime minister Theresa May’s proposed Brexit negotiating position agreed at Chequers last week.
Hunt – the longest serving health secretary to date – tweeted his support for Hancock in his new role:
Couldn’t ask for a better successor than @matthancock to take forward long term NHS plan with his brilliant understanding of the power of technology. The new NHS app will be in safe hands!
— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) July 9, 2018
Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents 85% of NHS providers and commissioners, called Hunt “the great survivor” and thanked him for his contribution as health secretary.
“He inherited a tangled mess of reorganisation from his predecessor and he had to live with a succession of austere funding settlements which were never going to meet rising demand,” Dickson said.
“Given so little to play with, Hunt deserves credit for helping to keep the show on the road”.
Hunt negotiated a £20bn annual funding settlement for the NHS in June this year.
Dickson said that Hancock faces an “overwhelming challenge”.
Hancock took to Twitter to express his excitement at joining DHSC:
Really looking forward to joining @DHSCgovuk at such an important time for our great NHS. I can’t wait to get started
— Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) July 9, 2018
Hancock was secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport. He was replaced in this department by former attorney general Jeremy Wright, who is in turn replaced by Geoffrey Cox.
David Davis, who resigned as Brexit secretary saying he could not endorse May’s proposals, has been replaced by former housing minister Dominic Raab.
Raab has been replaced as housing minister by Kit Malthouse, who served under Johnson in the Greater London Authority until being elected to the Commons in 2015.
Steve Baker, a committed Brexiteer and junior minister in the Department for Exiting the European Union, also left the government. He was replaced by Chris Heaton-Harris.
