Iain Duncan Smith will stay on as work and pensions secretary, it has been announced, as David Cameron finalises his new-look Cabinet.
Downing Street tonight confirmed that Duncan Smith - who served at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for the full five years of the last parliament - would continue in the job following the Conservatives' election victory.
Top of the agenda for the DWP under Duncan Smith will be finding a further £12bn of welfare savings promised by the Tories in the run-up to the election. The department will also be expected to complete the roll-out of the Universal Credit project, which aims to merge a number of existing benefits and tax credits. The programme has suffered a number of setbacks since its inception, with the DWP choosing to "reset" the scheme in 2014 following problems with its IT systems.
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Duncan Smith joins chancellor George Osborne, home secretary Theresa May, education secretary Nicky Morgan, defence secretary Michael Fallon and foreign secretary Philip Hammond as Cabinet ministers to remain in post in Cameron's new majority government.
Yesterday it was announced that Michael Gove would be returning to lead a department - this time the Ministry of Justice - after being moved from the education brief last year to serve as chief whip. Former justice secretary Chris Grayling has meanwhile been moved to the post of Commons leader, responsible for overseeing government business in the House.