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Sajid Javid returns to government as health secretary

Sajid Javid returns to government as health secretary

FORMER chancellor Sajid Javid will replace Matt Hancock as the UK's health and social care secretary, Downing Street said on Saturday (26).

Javid resigned as chancellor early last year after he refused to fire his political advisers as demanded by Johnson.


The British Asian MP from Bromsgrove has previously held the so-called great offices of state - as home secretary and chancellor.

Javid, whose parents migrated from Pakistan, joins chancellor Rishi Sunak, home secretary Priti Patel and COP26 president Alok Sharma as Asians holding powerful portfolios in the UK government.

A former banker who became an MP in 2010, Javid was quickly promoted from economic and financial secretary to the Treasury to secretary for business, then culture and later, communities and local government.

Prior to his career in politics, Javid, who graduated from Exeter University, worked in business and finance. He is said to have been the youngest vice president at Chase Manhattan Bank, aged 25.

He later moved to Deutsche Bank in London to help build its business in emerging market countries.

One of five brothers (one of whom has passed away), Javid has often spoken of how he grew up in one of the roughest streets in Bristol. His father was a bus driver and his mum was a seamstress.

Javid and his wife Laura, who is English, are parents to four children.

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UK calls for new pharmaceutical investment to strengthen life sciences

Highlights

  • UK life sciences sector contributed £17.6bn GVA in 2021 and supports 126,000 high-skilled jobs.
  • Inward life sciences FDI fell by 58 per cent from £1,897m in 2021 to £795m in 2023.
  • Experts warn NHS underinvestment and NICE pricing rules are deterring innovation and patient access.

Investment gap

Britain is seeking to attract new pharmaceutical investment as part of its plan to strengthen the life sciences sector, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said during meetings in Washington this week. “We do need to make sure that we are an attractive place for pharmaceuticals, and that includes on pricing, but in return for that, we want to see more investment flow to Britain,” Reeves told reporters.

Recent ABPI report, ‘Creating the conditions for investment and growth’, The UK’s pharmaceutical industry is integral to both the country’s health and growth missions, contributing £17.6 billion in direct gross value added (GVA) annually and supporting 126,000 high-skilled jobs across the nation. It also invests more in research and development (R&D) than any other sector. Yet inward life sciences foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 58per cent, from £1,897 million in 2021 to £795 million in 2023, while pharmaceutical R&D investment in the UK lagged behind global growth trends, costing an estimated £1.3 billion in lost investment in 2023 alone.

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