Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
| United Kingdom Secretary of State for Health and Social Care | |
|---|---|
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| Department of Health and Social Care | |
| Style | Health Secretary (informal) The Right Honourable (within the UK and Commonwealth) |
| Type | Minister of the Crown |
| Status | Secretary of State |
| Member of | |
| Reports to | The Prime Minister |
| Seat | Westminster |
| Nominator | The Prime Minister |
| Appointer | The Monarch (on the advice of the Prime Minister) |
| Term length | At His Majesty's pleasure |
| Formation |
|
| First holder | Benjamin Hall (as President of the Board of Health) |
| Salary | £159,038 per annum (2022)[1] (including £86,584 MP salary)[2] |
| Website | www |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Politics of the United Kingdom |
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|
 United Kingdom portal |
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The secretary of state for health and social care, also referred to as the health secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department of Health and Social Care.[3] The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
The position can trace its roots back to the nineteenth century, and has been a secretary of state position since 1968. For 30 years, from 1988 to 2018, the position was titled Secretary of State for Health, before Prime Minister Theresa May added "and Social Care" to the designation in the 2018 British cabinet reshuffle.[4]
The officeholder works alongside other health and social care ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow secretary of state for health and social care, and the secretary of state is also scrutinised by the Health and Social Care Select Committee.[5]
The position is currently held by Wes Streeting, who has served since 5 July 2024.
Responsibilities
[edit]Corresponding to what is generally known as a health minister in many other countries, the health secretary's remit includes the following:
- Oversight of England's National Health Service, including:
- Delivery of care
- Performance
- Fiscal consolidation
- Financial management[6]
- Matters concerning England's social care policy (although responsibility is shared with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government regarding adult social care, and the Department for Education concerning children's social care).
- Matters concerning England's national public health.
- Relations with international health partnerships, including the WHO.
History
[edit]The first Boards of Health were created by Orders in the Council dated 21 June, 14 November, and 21 November 1831. In 1848, a General Board of Health was established with lay members in leadership roles[7] and the first commissioner of woods and forests as its president. In 1854, this board was reconstituted, and the president was appointed separately. However, the board was abolished in 1858, and its function of overseeing local boards was transferred to a new Local Government Act Office within the Home Office. From 1871, that function was transferred to the new Local Government Board.[citation needed]
The Ministry of Health was created by the Ministry of Health Act 1919 as a reconstruction of the Local Government Board. Local government functions were eventually transferred to the minister of housing and local government, leaving the Health Ministry in charge of health matters.
From 1968, it was amalgamated with the Ministry of Social Security under the secretary of state for social services, until the de-merger of the Department of Health and Social Security on 25 July 1988.
Since devolution in 1999, the position holder's responsibility for the NHS is mainly restricted to the health service in England, while the holders' counterparts in Scotland and Wales are responsible for the NHS in Scotland and Wales. Prior to devolution, the secretaries of state for Scotland and Wales had those respective responsibilities, but the Department of Health played a larger role than it does now in the coordination of health policy across Great Britain. Health services in Northern Ireland have always had separate arrangements from the rest of the UK and are currently the responsibility of the health minister in the Northern Ireland Executive.
A small number of health issues remain reserved matters, meaning they are not devolved.
According to Jeremy Hunt, the department receives more letters than any other government department, and there are 50 officials in the correspondence unit.[8]
List of ministers
[edit]Colour key (for political parties):
Whig
Conservative
Radical
Peelite
Liberal
Labour
Unionist
National Labour
National Liberal
President of the Board of Health (1848-1858)
[edit]| President of the Board | Term of office | Political party | Prime Minister | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As First Commissioner of Woods and Forests | Lord John Russell | ||||||
|
The Earl of Carlisle | 1848 | 17 April 1849 | Whig | |||
|
Lord Seymour MP for Totnes |
17 April 1849 | 1 August 1851 | Whig | |||
| As First Commissioner of Works | |||||||
|
|
Lord Seymour MP for Totnes |
1 August 1851 | 21 February 1852 | Whig | |||
|
Lord John Manners MP for Colchester |
4 March 1852 | 17 December 1852 | Conservative | The Earl of Derby | ||
|
William Molesworth MP for Southwark |
5 January 1853 | 14 October 1854 | Radical | The Earl of Aberdeen (Coalition) | ||
| President of the Board of Health | |||||||
|
Benjamin Hall MP for Marylebone |
14 October 1854 | 13 August 1855 | Whig | |||
| The Viscount Palmerston | |||||||
|
William Cowper MP for Hertford |
13 August 1855 | 9 February 1857 | Whig | |||
|
William Monsell MP for County Limerick |
9 February 1857 | 24 September 1857 | Whig | |||
|
|
William Cowper MP for Hertford |
24 September 1857 | 21 February 1858 | Whig | |||
|
Charles Adderley MP for Staffordshire Northern |
8 March 1858 | 1 September 1858 | Conservative | The Earl of Derby | ||
| Board of Health abolished in 1858; responsibilities transferred to the Privy Council (1858–1871), then the Local Government Board (1871–1919). | |||||||
Minister of Health (1919–1968)
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Secretary of State for Social Services (1968–1988)
[edit]| Secretary of State | Term of office | Political party | Ministry | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Richard Crossman MP for Coventry East |
1 November 1968 | 19 June 1970 | Labour | Wilson II | ||
| Keith Joseph MP for Leeds North East |
20 June 1970 | 4 March 1974 | Conservative | Heath | |||
|
Barbara Castle MP for Blackburn |
5 March 1974 | 8 April 1976 | Labour | Wilson III | ||
|
David Ennals MP for Norwich North |
8 April 1976 | 4 May 1979 | Labour | Callaghan | ||
| Patrick Jenkin MP for Wanstead and Woodford |
5 May 1979 | 14 September 1981 | Conservative | Thatcher I | |||
|
Norman Fowler MP for Sutton Coldfield |
14 September 1981 | 13 June 1987 | Conservative | |||
| Thatcher II | |||||||
|
John Moore MP for Croydon Central |
13 June 1987 | 25 July 1988 | Conservative | Thatcher III | ||
| Post split into Secretary of State for Social Security and Secretary of State for Health in 1988. | |||||||
Secretary of State for Health (1988–2018)
[edit]
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (2018–present)
[edit]| Secretary of State | Term of office | Political party | Ministry | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Jeremy Hunt MP for South West Surrey |
8 January 2018 | 9 July 2018 | Conservative | May II | |
|
Matt Hancock MP for West Suffolk |
9 July 2018 | 26 June 2021 | Conservative | ||
| Johnson I | ||||||
| Johnson II | ||||||
|
Sajid Javid MP for Bromsgrove |
26 June 2021 | 5 July 2022 | Conservative | ||
|
Steve Barclay MP for North East Cambridgeshire |
5 July 2022 | 6 September 2022 | Conservative | ||
|
Thérèse Coffey MP for Suffolk Coastal |
6 September 2022 | 25 October 2022 | Conservative | Truss | |
|
|
Steve Barclay MP for North East Cambridgeshire |
25 October 2022 | 13 November 2023 | Conservative | Sunak | |
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|
Victoria Atkins MP for Louth and Horncastle |
13 November 2023 | 5 July 2024 | Conservative | ||
|
|
Wes Streeting MP for Ilford North |
5 July 2024 | Incumbent | Labour | Starmer | |
Timeline
[edit]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Salaries of Members of His Majesty's Government – Financial Year 2022–23" (PDF). 15 December 2022.
- ^ "Pay and expenses for MPs". parliament.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ "Secretary of State for Health and Social Care". gov.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ "Jeremy Hunt keeps Health Secretary with added social care brief despite overseeing NHS 'winter crisis'". The Independent. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
Jeremy Hunt has kept his job as Health Secretary, despite overseeing what is widely viewed as a winter crisis in the NHS. However, Theresa May has added social care to his responsibilities, to signal her determination to sort out one of the biggest issues facing the country.
- ^ "Health Secretary answers questions on the Government's handling of the pandemic". UK PARLIAMENT. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
Matt Hancock MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, answers questions from MPs on the Government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- ^ "Secretary of State for Health and Social Care - GOV.UK". gov.uk.
- ^ "4 Dec 1848, 5 - The Observer at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ Hunt, Jeremy (2022). Zero. London: Swift Press. p. 14. ISBN 9781800751224.
External links
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