North West Cambridgeshire MP Shailesh Vara has been given a second ministerial appointment by David Cameron.

It was announced on Thursday that Mr Vara, 54, had been appointed parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department of Work and Pensions, where he will work under former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith.

The department is set for sweeping changes in the months and years ahead as the Government seeks to trim a further £12billion for the welfare bill, with chancellor George Osborne announced a raft of cuts to benefits in last week’s budget.

Mr Vara’s new role is in addition to his post as parliamentary under secretary of state at the Ministry of Justice, a post which he has held since 2013.

A spokesman for Mr Vara said he will continue in the Ministry of Justice “alongside his new appointment”.

Mr Vara, who first won election to the NW Cambridgeshire seat in 2005, said: “I am delighted to have been appointed by the Prime Minister as a minister in the Department for Work and Pensions. I am also very pleased that I will be able to continue my work in the Ministry of Justice.

“Both departments have important work to be done and I look forward to helping progress the government’s agenda.”