PRIME Minister Gordon Brown turned to Black Country MPs to fill key jobs in his latest reshuffle.

Stourbridge MP Lynda Waltho joined the government as Deputy Minister for The West Midlands in a surprise move by the Premier as he looks to refresh his under-pressure administration.

Lynda will be working alongside Dudley North MP Ian Austin after his transfer out of Downing Street, where he worked as Gordon Brown’s Parliamentary Private Secretary.

Mr Austin will replace Liam Byrne at the head of the Government Office for The West Midlands.

Lynda said “I was very surprised to get a call from the Prime Minister, let alone one offering me such an important role.

“The West Midlands Region is a most important region and has many challenges. I hope that I will be able to continue the good work that my colleague, Liam Byrne began as the first Minister for the Region and very much see my role as championing the region as a whole at the heart of Government.

“I am proud to be asked to take up this important portfolio and proud to be Stourbridge’s woman in Whitehall.”

The two Black Country politicians will be joining the West Midlands office as the full effects of the credit crunch begin to take hold.

In early September, Liam Byrne told cabinet ministers Jobseekers Allowance claims were rising while business orders in the West Midlands were at their lowest point for seven years.

The size of the challenge facing Mr Austin and Mrs Waltho at the West Midlands office is underlined by ambitious medium term targets for the region set at the same briefing.

These targets include the creation of 1,900 new businesses each year and providing a new home every half-an-hour.

The Department plans to achieve these goals through its Regional Economic Strategy which aims to allocate £25bn of taxpayers cash between 2007 and 2012.

Mr Austin said: “The government's entire focus has to be on doing everything we can to ensure the stability of our economy. So my priority will be to help safeguard the security of families in the Midlands and the companies on whom the region's jobs and prosperity depend.”

Dudley South MP Ian Pearson has also switched jobs in the reshuffle with a move to the Treasury.

Mr Pearson moves from his previous position as science minister to become Economic Secretary to the Treasury.

He will also have some responsibilities in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

Mr Pearson said: “It is a real honour to be asked to serve as a Treasury minister at such a challenging time. I am keen to play my full part in helping Gordon Brown to lead the country through the current economic difficulties and in making life better for real people in the real economy.”