Alex Burghart is no longer Minister for Pensions and Growth and has been moved to the Cabinet Office, where he will be a Parliamentary Secretary.

Writing on Twitter, Burghart said he was sad to be leaving the pensions team at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) but was glad to be "handing back" to previous Pensions Minister, Guy Opperman.

Burghart was only officially announced as Minister for Pensions and Growth just over two weeks ago, following then-Prime Minister, Liz Truss’s, reshuffle.

Although it was only officially announced on 12 October, he had already been in the job for around three weeks at that point.

His departure from the role marks part of Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak’s, reshuffle, which included the return of Guy Opperman as a Minister of State at the DWP.

While Burghart said that he would be handing back to Opperman, Opperman's specific role and duties are yet to be officially confirmed.

Burghart was elected as the Conservative MP for Brentwood and Ongar in June 2017, and previously served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education from 16 September 2021 to 6 July 2022.

He also served as a member of the Work and Pensions Committee from 11 September 2017 to 11 February 2019, and as a member of the Human Rights Joint Committee from 18 December 2017 to 25 February 2019.

Alongside Opperman, Tom Pursglove has also appointed as a Minister of State in the DWP, while Laura Trott and Mims Davies have been appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretaries in the department.

Their specific ministerial roles are also yet to be announced.

Writing on Twitter, Burghart said that he was "delighted" to be heading to the Cabinet Office to work with Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Oliver Dowden.

Quilter head of retirement policy, Jon Greer, commented: "The merry go round at the DWP, and for that matter the entirety of the government, continues at pace with Alex Burghart leaving his very short-lived role at minister for pensions and growth for pastures new as Parliamentary Under-secretary of State for the Cabinet Office.

"Despite the long-term nature of pensions, the role of Pensions Minister has often been used as a springboard into the Treasury. This has meant there was a constant cycle of new ministers until the likes of Sir Steve Webb and then Guy Opperman brought much needed stability to the role. However, Burghart’s time in office must make him the shortest serving pensions minister in history.

"In some ways, his short tenure before leaving is somewhat of a good thing as he won’t have had any time to get projects going that he will now leave unfinished. Similarly, the world of pensions is a complicated one and it takes new ministers some time to get up to speed with the complexities of the UK system, so he won’t be leaving a gaping hole of knowledge either.

"It would therefore be wise to get someone in who knows the ropes and Guy Opperman’s appointment into the DWP, announced last night, makes him the natural candidate and it looks like he will get the job back. However, he has been appointed as a mid-ranking minister and historically the role of pensions minister has been a junior one.

"This could mean that the importance of pensions has been elevated in government. Considering the furore around the future of the state pension and pensions clear political importance this should come as no surprise. Opperman back in government and the upgraded importance of pensions would be cause for celebration in the pensions industry.

"Opperman would be able to pick up where he left off after resigning amid the dying days of Johnson’s government and continue to drive forward a number of considerable projects and policies such as the upcoming pensions dashboard, which will allow users to see all their pension policies in one place. Similarly, he had spearheaded a drive to increase customer engagement and help people better understand their pension and get value for money. This must continue."

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