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Hain promoted in Brown's cabinet | Hain promoted in Brown's cabinet |
(31 minutes later) | |
Peter Hain has been given a promotion by Prime Minister Gordon Brown who has unveiled a huge overhaul to his new cabinet. | |
Downing Street has been confirmed that Neath MP Mr Hain will become work and pensions secretary. | |
He will also continue in his position as Welsh secretary. | |
Mr Hain, who was came fifth last weekend in the deputy Labour leadership contest, moves from the job as Northern Ireland secretary. | |
He replaces John Hutton, who will remain in the cabinet. | |
There had been speculation that Mr Hain could take over from Hilary Benn as international development secretary but that post has gone to Douglas Alexander, former transport and Scottish secretary. | |
The Department for Work and Pensions is one of the top-spending departments in Whitehall. | |
The department - once known as the department for social security - is responsible for all sorts of benefits, from allowances paid to carers to child support, incapacity benefit and, of course, pensions. | |
Welfare reform was one of the big issues Tony Blair highlighted on coming to power 10 years ago. | |
His first welfare reform minister was told to "think the unthinkable" - and sacked a year later. | |
Rich and poor | |
Among the challenges facing Mr Hain will be the government's drive to reduce the number of people on incapacity benefit - a problem common in former industrial areas of Wales. | |
He will also come under fresh pressure to improve financial assistance to the former workers at ASW in Cardiff and elsewhere who lost their pensions when their company went bust. | |
But one of the department's aims is to reduce poverty. Mr Hain has regularly called for the gap between rich and poor to be narrowed. | |
The MP is said to be both delighted and surprised by his promotion - after a week in which his Northern Ireland job was offered to Paddy Ashdown and The Sun predicted he would be sacked. |