Mims Davies has been appointed as the new Minister for Sport and Civil Society following Tracey Crouch's resignation last week.

Crouch quit last week after the government announced plans to delay cutting the stakes on fixed odds betting terminals from £100 to £2 until October 2019.

Davies, who is the MP for Eastleigh, has now been unveiled as the successor to Crouch, taking on the wide-range of responsibilities the role involves, including sport, charities, horse racing, the National Lottery and society lotteries. The role also now involves work on loneliness.

Despite calls for the role to be split up, with many charity leaders arguing civil society requires a role of its own, there is no sign of the position changing.

Davies was previously a minister in the Wales Office and has been a government whip since the beginning of the year.

In 2017, she ran the London Marathon in aid of Cardiac Risk in the Young, raising over £1,000. She is also a trustee for military charity, Building Heroes.

Commenting on the appointment, ACEVO CEO, Vicky Browning, said: “It is great for the sector that we have a minister who has demonstrated her commitment and passion for charities by running the marathon in aid of a charity and by holding a trustee position in a small armed forces charity.

“Like her predecessor, it seems she will not need to be convinced of the value of charities but, also like her predecessor Mims Davies has a large brief and it is important that she demonstrates her belief in the value of charities by prioritising the implementation of the civil society strategy."

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