The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Alan Milburn, is returning to the Department of Health in his second move in less than a year.

Mr Milburn was promoted to the Cabinet, replacing Stephen Byers as chief secretary to the Treasury, as a consequence of the resignation of Peter Mandelson last Christmas.

He had previously been at the Department of Health, where he had served as a minister from 1997 with the responsibility for building new hospitals using the private finance initiative in co-operation with large companies.