Brighton MP becomes parliamentary aide to Health Secretary

The Conservative MP for Brighton Kemptown Simon Kirby has become parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Mr Kirby was previously a PPS at the Foreign Office and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Both times he worked for the Conservative minister Hugh Robertson who left the government in the reshuffle last week.

Mr Kirby said that he was delighted with his promotion which was announced this afternoon (Tuesday 22 July).

Simon Kirby and Jeremy Hunt

He joined the Health Secretary on a tour of the Royal Sussex County Hospital earlier this month.

Mr Hunt had come to see the Royal Sussex first hand two months after the Chancellor George Osborne announced approval of the hospital’s long-planned £420 million modernisation.

Mr Kirby said that he had taken a close interest in health-related issues and served as the vice-chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on HIV and AIDS.

He is a patron of the Sussex and Kent ME/CFS Society and a supporter of the Sussex Beacon.

Mr Kirby said: “The NHS is incredibly important to me, as it is to many of my constituents.

“That is why I was delighted to accept the offer to be part of the team assisting the Secretary of State, working hard to make the NHS even better for patients.

“I am absolutely committed to the founding principles of the NHS, namely that care is free at the point of use based on need, not on the ability to pay.

“I know from my campaign to improve the Royal Sussex that the Secretary of State shares this passion for the NHS and I look forward to working with him going forward to improve services for patients and staff alike.

“I am particularly pleased that this position will allow me to keep a close on eye on the progress of the hospital redevelopment here in Brighton and to continue to be a strong voice for our hospital, which is very close to my heart having fought so hard to make it a reality.”