Victoria Atkins replaces Barclay as UK Health Secretary

Victoria Atkins is replacing Steve Barclay as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in a reshuffle that claimed the job of home secretary Suella Braverman and saw the return to the front bench of former prime minister David Cameron.

Atkins is taking up her first cabinet post since being elected in 2015 and has been elevated at a particularly challenging time amid acrimonious negotiations over NHS pay, industrial action, record waiting lists for elective procedures, and predictions of a challenging winter ahead for the NHS.

She is the fifth person to take the role since Matt Hancock stepped down in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Atkins has moved to the health job after holding various junior ministerial positions – not in health and social care – and was most recently appointed financial secretary to the treasury by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. She trained as a criminal barrister, specialising in prosecuting serious organised crime and is married to Paul Kenward, managing director of British Sugar, a company which is also involved in the medicinal cannabis market.

Barclay, who has been moved to Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, was named health secretary just over a year ago after Sajid Javid resigned in the final days of Boris Johnson’s premiership.

There are currently almost 7.8 million people waiting for NHS treatment - a new record, compared to about 7 million a year ago - and while negotiations over doctor pay are at a critical stage.

NHS Providers' chief executive, Sir Julian Hartley, said that the top task facing the new Health Secretary must be the resolution of ongoing industrial action as “the cumulative impact of strikes on patients, staff, and the NHS cannot be understated."

“Ahead of the Autumn Statement, we urge her to ensure sufficient capital investment in deteriorating NHS facilities and equipment,” he added. “Whole government action to tackle health inequalities and reforming social care are also priorities, as both are essential for the wellbeing of patients and efficiency of services.”

Another change with relevance to the life sciences sector is the news that Science Minister George Freeman has resigned, saying on X (formerly Twitter) that he had decided to move on at the next reshuffle in the summer.

He said he had taken the decision to leave his role as a minister in the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology to focus on his "health, family wellbeing, and life beyond the front bench,” and added he had been proud to have helped organise the UK rejoining the EU’s Horizon Europe funding programme.