Government appoints Jo Churchill as new pharmacy minister

Jo Churchill has been appointed as the new parliamentary under-secretary of state for prevention, public health and primary care at the Department of Health and Social Care.

Churchill replaces Seema Kennedy, who took up the position in April 2019, as the minister in charge of the pharmacy portfolio, following a government re-shuffle by the new prime minister, Boris Johnson.

Churchill was first elected as a Conservative Party MP in 2015 as the first female representative for Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. She was re-elected in 2017.

She has represented the constituency as a member of several bodies, including the Women and Equalities Select Committee, chair of the Personalised Medicine All Party Parliamentary Group and chair of the Medical Research All Party Parliamentary Group.

In 2017, Churchill was appointed as parliamentary private secretary to Jeremy Hunt, former secretary of state for the then Department of Health. In 2018, she was appointed as assistant government whip.

During a Westminster Hall debate in January 2017, Churchill spoke about her support for a “pharmacy-first culture” and highlighted the potential for pharmacy to drive forward integrated healthcare throughout the NHS. She also warned former pharmacy minister, David Mowat, that he should consider the impact of planned efficiency savings across community pharmacies.