Earl Howe is no longer pharmacy minister after five years with the portfolio, the Department of Health (DH) has announced.

The Conservative member of the House of Lords had taken on the roles of minister of state for the Ministry of Defence and deputy leader of the House of Lords, the government said on its website. The announcement came amid a week of government reshuffles following the Conservative election victory last Friday (May 8).

The replacement pharmacy minister had not yet been announced, said the DH, who also told C+D this morning (May 14) that it could not divulge the reason for Mr Howe's move.

Since taking on the position of under secretary of state for quality at the DH - whose portfolio included pharmacy - in 2010, Earl Howe repeatedly called for the decriminalisation of dispensing errors. He also attracted criticism from C+D readers for denying that stock shortages caused patient harm and claiming the government’s approach to shortages was “working well”.

Former banker Earl Howe previously served as parliamentary under secretary of state at the Ministry of Defence from 1995 to 1997.

The government announced on Monday (May 11) that Jeremy Hunt had been reappointed health secretary. New government appointments include MP for North East Bedfordshire Alistair Burt as minister of state at the DH, and Ipswich MP Ben Gummer, who replaced Daniel Poulter as parliamentary under secretary of state for the DH.

Who should replace Earl Howe?

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