Editor’s blog Sunday 23 May 2010: DH outlines new ministers' bits

The DH has outlined the new ministers' bits.

This announcement makes it clear that the responsibilites are broadly as follows:

Simon Burns MP - Minister of State for Health, portfolio includes:
Legislation
NHS Performance
Health Services
Reconfiguration of Services
Patient Safety
Application of Quality Regulation
NHS Workforce
Mixed Sex Accommodation
Connecting for Health

Paul Burstow MP - Minister of State for Care Services, portfolio includes:
Long Term Care Reform
Adult Social Care
Carers
Personal Health Budgets
Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults
End of Life Care
Long Term Conditions, including cancer and diabetes
Dementia
Mental Health
Physical Disabilities
Autism
Learning Disabilities

Anne Milton MP - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health, portfolio includes:
Public Health, including sexual health, tobacco, drugs and alcohol
Vaccination and Immunisation
Blood and Transplants
Fertility and Embryology
Fluoridation
Food, diet and nutrition
Children’s Health
Maternity Services
Nursing and Midwifery
Health Visiting
Professional Regulation
Medical Education and Training

Earl Howe - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Quality (Lords), portfolio includes:
NHS Constitution
NHS Commissioning Reform
Primary Care
Dentistry
Medicines, Pharmacy and Industry
NICE
Research and Development
Innovation
Finance
Review of Arm’s Length Bodies

Burns and Howe have got the sexier stuff by a long way, though the former gets the hemlock chalice of NHS Connecting For Health (or as it should now be called, 'NHS Escaping The Contracts'.

Howe will be lobbied to within an inch of his life over his function to review arms' length bodies - what's the clinical coding for 'death by expenses lunch'?

Burstow's portfolio is the most challenging - though it is where many potential big wins could reside.

And there is a degree of oddness about the apparent attitude to public health - 'ph, giver it to the woman' - and the inclusion of  medical education and training in Anne Milton's portfolio is highly counter-intuitive. Surely that should have sat with workforce under Burns?