David Evennett, the Conservative MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford, will pick up Tracey Crouch’s ministerial brief of Sport, Tourism and Heritage when she takes maternity leave.

Crouch, who was appointed as minister following the party’s 2015 general election victory, will exit her role temporarily in January 2016.

She is expected to deliver the government’s strategy for sport, which has been subject to a public consultation process, before she departs.

Evennett was appointed to the Committee of Selection in June 2015, where he nominated MPs to serve on House of Commons General and Select Committees. Prior to that he had been minister in the Government Whips Office since September 2012.

He has been an MP since being elected in 2005, and had also served as a member of parliament between 1983 and 1997.

“It’s a privilege to be covering the Sport, Tourism and Heritage ministerial role. It’s a fantastic and diverse brief, one whose sectors make a great contribution to both the economy and British culture,” Evennett said.