Care Quality Commission (CQC) chair David Prior has been appointed Under Secretary of State for health, the latest Department of Health appointment to David Cameron’s all-Conservative Government.
Mr Prior, a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, will take up his new role immediately and step down from his role as the chair of the CQC.
Michael Mire, a CQC board member, will chair next week’s board meeting and a search for a replacement is underway.
Mr Prior said: ‘I believe that the new regulatory model we have developed will not just identify poor care but also stimulate and encourage services to improve’.
The appointment is the fourth made to the Department of Health since the Conservatives won last week’s general election.
Jeremy Hunt was reappointed as health secretary on Monday. Meanwhile Alistair Burt was appointed care and support minister, replacing Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb, and Ipswich MP Ben Gummer replaced Dr Dan Poulter as a junior health minister.
