Tory MP Helen Grant remains equalities minister but with extra responsibility for sport
As part of today’s reshuffle, Conservative MP Helen Grant will remain as a junior equalities minister, but with the added responsibility of being Minister for Sport.
She is replacing Tory MP Hugh Robertson, who has been promoted to Minister of State at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.
Mrs Grant, the MP for Maidstone in Kent, previously also occupied the post of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice.
In her new joint role as Minister for Sport, she will leave the Justice Department and work solely in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
Mrs Grant is familiar with the DCMS, as it houses the Government Equalities Office (GEO), where her post of Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Equalities is attached.
She already works closely with Culture Secretary Maria Miller – the Minister with overall responsibility for the GEO.
In May, writing exclusively for PinkNews.co.uk, ahead of Royal Assent of the same-sex marriage act, Mrs Grant said: “Equal marriage is about the fundamental values and principles which bind us together as a society. I remain of the view that far from being a radical departure, equal marriage is simply one more in a long line of reforms which have strengthened marriage, ensuring it remains as relevant to our society as it ever was.”
Mrs Grant was elected at the 2010 general election, replacing the constituency’s previous incumbent, Ann Widdecombe, who is infamous for some of her extreme anti-gay views.
