Saqib has been appointed as a Shadow Minister of State in the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and a Shadow Minister in the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in charge of primary care and dentistry. These appointments follow the recent General Election at which the Conservative Party became the official opposition to the new Labour government. In these roles, Saqib will hold the government to account by scrutinising their policies and actions to secure the best outcome for the nation.
During the last parliament, Saqib served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for DSIT, working on, amongst other things, online safety and expanding our cooperation on AI with other countries. Having championed the tech sector and focused on legislation to safeguard children online, Saqib will bring extensive knowledge and expertise to the role of Shadow Minister of State in DSIT.
Saqib served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Rt Hon. Sajid Javid, the then Health Secretary from 2020-2022. During this time, he supported the work of the Secretary of State in handling the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing issues facing the health sector. These experiences will help Saqib to properly scrutinise the work of DHSC and hold the ministers to account.
Commenting on the appointment, Saqib said:
“I am delighted to be appointed to the shadow front bench. As his Majesty’s opposition our primary duty is to hold the government to account. As shadow minister for DSIT I will be ensuring that the government remains focussed on delivering jobs and new technology. As the shadow minister for primary care and dentistry, my focus will be to ensure we continue to deliver a strong national health service across the country.”
