It comes after former health secretary Jeremy Hunt stepped down from the role – which he had held since 2020 – last month, after being appointed chancellor of the exchequer.
Steve Brine, who has served as the MP for Winchester since 2010, was pharmacy minister from June 2017 until March 2019.
Five MPs declared their interest in the role of chair, triggering a ballot in the House of Commons earlier today (November 2).
Among the candidates were Stephen Hammond, MP for Wimbledon; Dr Caroline Johnson, MP for Sleaford and North Hykeham; Anne Marie Morris, MP for Newton Abbot; and another ex-pharmacy minister, James Morris, MP for Halesowen and Rowley Regis.
Today (Wednesday) Steve Brine MP has been elected as our new Chair.
— Health and Social Care Committee (@CommonsHealth) November 2, 2022
Congratulations @BrineMP and welcome! 👏 pic.twitter.com/CRPHLtT28T
Health and social care committee on pharmacy workforce
In July, the health and social care committee published a report calling for an “integrated and funded” pharmacy workforce plan to be developed and laid before parliament within the next year.
The pharmacy workforce plan should take into consideration that all newly qualified pharmacists will be independent prescribers from 2026, the report said.
Read more: MPs push government for funded pharmacy workforce plan
These pharmacists should be given protected learning time, the right amount of supervision, and opportunities to develop their careers, it recommended.
The government was due to respond to the report by September 25, however it has not yet published its response.
Brine’s views on being a committee chair
In his candidate statement for the role of chair, Mr Brine acknowledged that workforce pressures faced “for so long” by health and social care teams have been “the Achilles heel of the service”.
The committee must “work with HM Treasury to finally deliver that independent health workforce assessment”, he added.
“A good select committee chair works cross-party with his/her committee members, scrutinising the ministers on their plans as much as it sets the agenda. I will not forget that,” he said.
“We fail to reap the rewards in better outcomes”
Prior to his role as pharmacy minister, Mr Brine also served as a parliamentary private secretary to then-health minister Jeremy Hunt in 2015.
Following Theresa May’s appointment as prime minister in July 2016, he also held the role of assistant government whip at the Treasury.
In a statement this afternoon, following his appointment, he announced that he “welcome[s] the opportunity as chair to continue the calm, measured work of Jeremy Hunt”.
As chair, he will “examine new solutions to support the NHS to enable it to continue providing the services that we all depend upon”, he added.
“Despite spending vast sums on health, we fail to reap the rewards in better outcomes. We need to understand why and to press the government about getting better value for our money,” he said.
Meanwhile, health and social care committee member Taiwo Owatemi was elected yesterday (November 1) as the new chair of the All-Party Pharmacy Group.