 | This biographical articleis writtenlike a résumé. Pleasehelp improve it by revising it to beneutral andencyclopedic.(March 2021) |
The Lord Markham | |
|---|---|
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| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care | |
| In office 22 September 2022 – 5 July 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Liz Truss Rishi Sunak[1] |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 10 October 2022 Life Peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 February 1968 (1968-02-13) (age 57) Haywards Heath,West Sussex, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | LSE |
| Occupation | Co-Founder Cignpost Diagnostics Ltd. Lead NEDDept Work & Pensions NED Inchora Ltd. |
Nicholas Francis Markham, Baron Markham, is a member of the UK's upper house of parliament, The House of Lords.[2] He was formerly a governmentjunior minister [unpaid] at the UK's Department of Health and Social Care.[3][4] Markham was appointedCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the2022 Birthday Honours for services to the economy and government.[5]
At the beginning of the pandemic, he set up a charity, Project Little Boat, to deliverPPE and other essential equipment,[6] withDenis Kinane. Markham then co-founded Cignpost Diagnostics withDenis Kinane and Steve Whatley and is the Commercial Lead responsible for building the business. Cignpost has worked withelite sports,[7] film production, travel[8] and banking sectors to ensure they have a safeCOVID-19-free working environment and under the consumer brand ExpressTest, to help the public travel safely.[9] Markham's position in Cignpost led to questions about a possible conflict of interest as from early 2023 Markham was a health minister. Markham does not mention Cignpost in his biography for the Department for Health website.[10]
Markham was chairman of London & Continental Railways.[11]Previously he was the lead non-executive director for the Ministry of Housing,Communities and Local Government since January 2013, where he also chaired the Audit and Risk Committee.[12] He was strategy director atITV where he led the merger integration ofCarlton Television (nowITV London) andGranada and developed the concept ofFreeview alongside the BBC.[13]
From 1990 to 1998, Markham was a councillor and deputy leader ofWestminster City Council.
From 2014 Markham chaired Inview Technology Ltd which went into administration in March 2020 with the loss to investors of over £20 million.
He was CFO forLaura Ashley where he led the financial restructuring of the business.[citation needed]
He was chief executive of Top Up TV,[14] which supplied a range of linear pay TV channels on DTT includingSky Sports 1, 2 andESPN and which provides conditional-access modules (CAMs) and technical services toBT Vision. According to the Government websiteGov.ukTop Up TV was the first successful pay TV operator on digital terrestrial television in the world.[12]
On 22 September 2022, he was appointedParliamentary Under-Secretary of State in theDepartment of Health and Social Care.[3] On 7 October 2022, to facilitate his ministerial role, he was createdBaron Markham,of East Horsley in the County of Surrey,[15] and wasintroduced to theHouse of Lords on 10 October 2022.[16] He sits as aConservative peer.[16] His was the first life peerage created duringCharles III's reign.
Markham lives inSurrey with wife Dr Ingrid Batista and their son Xavi.[citation needed] He also has two older children Ben and Sam.[citation needed]
| Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Gentlemen Baron Markham | Followed by |