Many see it as a blow to how the sector is regarded within government

Charities will no longer have a dedicated UK government minister, relegating the role back into  the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

After Baroness Barran was moved to the Department for Education, the charities brief has been allocated to Nigel Huddleston, who also holds responsibility for tourism, heritage and the Commonwealth Games.

The appointment will be seen by many in the sector as a further downgrade of the importance of charities within government.

Huddleston, who has been the Conservative MP for Mid Worcestershire since 2015, has held his existing post since February last year.

Before entering parliament, Huddleston worked as a consultant and as industry head of travel for Google.

He does not appear to have any obvious voluntary sector connections, based on his constituency website or register of parliamentary interests.