Alex Burghart has been appointed as the parliamentary under secretary of state in the Department of Work and Pensions and is widely expected to take on the role of the new pensions minister.
This announcement was made by the Prime Minister’s Office, and is one of the first ministerial appointments to be approved by the new monarch, King Charles III.
Burghart has previously served on the Work and Pensions select committee. He has also served as minister for skills in the Department of Education. Burghart, a former teacher, was also a special adviser to Theresa May during her period as prime minister.
The role of pensions minister has been vacant since Guy Opperman — the longest serving pension minister — was removed from the role on September 8. Due to the period of mourning following the Queen’s death he only announced he would be leaving the role earlier this week.
Former pensions minister Steve Webb, now a partner at Lane Clark & Peacock, said in a tweet: “Assuming the new pensions minister is Alex Burghart, his experience on the DWP Select Committee will give him more background in the subject that some holders of the office!”
Webb added: “The new pensions minister will inherit a lot of ‘work in progress’, including pensions dashboards.
“When new ministers are appointed there is a risk that they simply roll forward everything that their predecessors had set in train. But a change of leadership offers a unique opportunity to reassess priorities – something which is urgently needed.
“In my view, the low level of saving into defined contribution pensions is the biggest timebomb we have in pensions, yet policy has been in limbo since the 2017 review of automatic enrolment. A top priority must be a plan to boost saving levels when cost of living pressures ease.”
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