Sorry for the awful pun in the title but Phil Hope has been appointed as the new care services minister. Does anyone know anything about him?

He was in Z Cars, can tap dance and juggle (if Wikipedia isn't lying). What more could you possibly ask for?

There's more about the Phil Hope appointment here.

The interesting thing is he will be a minister of state for adult social care, giving it a higher profile than it had previously, which has to be good news.

I asked Stephen Ladyman how he felt about going into a position which had been downgraded shortly after he was given the job and if this represented the government thinking that adult social care was less of a priority. He was really annoyed by the question and said he thought it was abotu the person doing it rather than the level of the role.

I agree the elevation can only be a good thing but I agree with Ladyman that a lot is down to the individual. Ignoring his activities outside of work Lewis has served the sector well and I think many will be sorry to see him go.

What one-line message would people like to give to Phil Hope in his first work in the job?

Sort the funding crisis in social care for older people, it is growing by the week.