New childcare minister is Sam Gyimah

Sam Gyimah, MP for East Surrey, who was recently appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education, has confirmed on Twitter he will be responsible for childcare and the early years.

Mr Gyimah replaces Elizabeth Truss, who ruffled more than a few feathers in the sector, when she tried to introduce increased ratios in nurseries and lambasted nurseries in the UK, saying many are “chaotic”, “where children are running around” and “there’s no sense of purpose”.

The Cabinet reshuffle last week saw Ms Truss given the job of environment minister while Michael Gove lost his job as education secretary with Nicky Morgan taking on the role. Mr Gove has been made chief whip.

However the sector has had to wait for news on the identity of the new childcare minister, which has led to criticism, with Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre School Learning Alliance claiming the delay shows the Government does not see the early years as a priority.

Mr Gyimah was born in Berkshire but spent ten years of his childhood in Ghana, when his mother, a nurse, moved after his parents separated. She brought up Mr Gyimah and his two siblings on her own.

He returned to the UK after his O'Levels and attended Freman College, a comprehensive in Hertfordshire and after that went to Oxford University.

On leaving university, he worked in the City and after that developed a number of small businesses in the training, recruitment and internet sectors.

On his website he says: “Having served as school governor of an inner London school and on the board of a housing association, I then decided to take the plunge into politics, motivated by the positive role education has played in my own life and how that could be made possible for all.”

He was Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Prime Minister David Cameron from 2012 to 2013 and was appointed as a Lord Commissioner of Her Majesty’s Treasury in October 2013.

Mr Gyimah is the only minister in the Department for Education who did not go to private school. Nicky Morgan went to an independent girls' school, Nick Boles was educated at Winchester College, Edward Timpson went to Uppingham, Lord Nash went to Milton Abbey and Nick Gibb went to non-selective state, grammar and private schools.