Government IT roles get reshuffled

But appointment of minister for digital engagement put on hold

Tom Watson has stepped down from the Cabinet

Gordon Brown's latest reshuffle has left the government without a minister for digital engagement after former Cabinet Office minister Tom Watson stepped down from the role.

A spokesman for the Cabinet Office did not immediately reply to the question of who would take over Watson's responsibilities.

In other moves, Mike O'Brien, formerly a junior minister in the department of energy and climate change and briefly in the past the e-commerce minister, takes over from Ben Bradshaw as minister with responsibility for the £12.7bn NHS National Programme for IT.

Lord Stephen Carter remains in his post as junior minister of communications, technology and broadcasting, with responsibility for the Digital Britain report. His role is split across the newly formed Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

But there remains confusion over the role of minister for digital inclusion.

As revealed by Computing's sister-site, vnunet.com, Paul Murphy, the former minister for digital inclusion, was to have announced a new "Digital Inclusion Champion" on Tuesday, but his involvement in the expenses scandal, and subsequent disentitlement, means that his position, and that of his champion, is now open.

Murphy, who was also the Welsh secretary, left the government after he was found to have spent more than £3,000 of taxpayers' money renewing his boiler. Prior to the digital inclusion position, Murphy had chaired Cabinet committees on personal data security and information assurance.

Neath MP Peter Hain will take the position of Welsh secretary, but a spokeswoman said it is unclear whether or not he will have the expertise to take on Murphy's digital inclusion responsibilities as well. She acknowledged the need to replace Murphy with someone close to the issues of digital inclusion.

Murphy published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan for consultation in October, which included the proposal for an independent Digital Inclusion Champion.

Additional reporting by Rosalie Marshall