McFadden gets e-government brief

Pat McFadden has taken on the role of the government's figurehead on public sector IT.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson told Government Computing News that McFadden, one of two parliamentary secretaries in the department, would take responsibility for e-government matters.

He replaces Jim Murphy, the junior minister who was moved to the Department of Work and Pensions in the recent reshuffle.

The spokesperson said although the job is now in the hands of a parliamentary secretary rather than a minister, the e-government agenda has not been downgraded.

"He will still be in charge of the Transformational Government strategy, which is still one of the biggies the government has to deliver on," the spokesperson said.

McFadden has had just a year in Parliament, having been elected as MP for Wolverhampton South-East in the May 2005 general election. Before that he was a political secretary to the prime minister.

The spokesperson added that the minister for the Cabinet Office, Hilary Armstrong, may still get involved in e-government issues if she thinks it necessary. Her brief includes social exclusion, which can extend to cover the use of IT in delivering services.

This article was originally published at Kablenet.

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