A COUNTY MP has moved up the ministerial ladder with a promotion in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Mid Worcestershire MP Nigel Huddleston will now assist new Culture Secretary Matt Hancock, who was promoted in last week’s cabinet reshuffle.

Mr Huddleston said: “I am delighted to have been reappointed as a parliamentary private secretary and particularly to have been given the opportunity to continue working for the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

“DCMS is intricately involved in issues that are vitally important to my constituents including broadband, heritage, tourism and the tech sector.

“It is a privilege to have been granted a position in such a vital department and I look forward to playing my role in bringing forward new policies which will be of benefit not just to my constituents, but the whole of the UK.”

Mr Huddleston was first appointed as a parliamentary private secretary in July 2017 to assist the culture department ministerial team.

His role as a parliamentary private secretary will involve meeting with industry bodies and making sure the views of backbench MPs are known to the Secretary of State.

Mr Huddleston will also help the Secretary of State prepare for debates and questions in the House of Commons.

Though it is not a government role, the position of parliamentary private secretary means he is the eyes and ears within the department.

Mr Huddleston’s appointment means he joins Harriet Baldwin as county MPs who gained a promotion during the reshuffle.

The West Worcestershire MP left her job as parliamentary under secretary at the Ministry of Defence to become a minister of state at the Foreign Office.

Worcester MP Robin Walker remains in his role at the Department for Exiting the European Union.