| United Kingdom Minister of State for Social Care | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
 | |
| Department of Health and Social Care | |
| Style | Minister |
| Nominator | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| Appointer | TheMonarch on advice of thePrime Minister |
| Term length | At His Majesty's pleasure |
| Website | https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/minister-of-state--143 |
TheMinister of State for Social Care is a mid-level position in theDepartment of Health and Social Care in theBritish government.[1] The minister often deputises for theSecretary of State for Health and Social Care alongside theMinister of State for Health and Secondary Care. The minister is in charge ofsocial care in England.[1]
In the 1960s, the role was known asMinister of State for Social Services in theDepartment of Social Security.
The position was created in 2006, withIvan Lewis being madeMinister of State for Care Services.[2]
After the Conservative victory in the2015 United Kingdom general electionAlistair Burt returned to Government asMinister of State for Care and Support in theDepartment of Health. In July 2016, Burt announced that he would be resigning from his Ministerial position, "Twenty-four years and one month ago, I answered my first question as a junior minister in oral questions and I’ve just completed my last oral questions," Burt said. It was made clear that his resignation was not related toBrexit.[3]
The position was given toDavid Mowat and renamed asParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Care and Support.David Mowat lost hisWarrington South seat in thesnap2017 general election.[4] He was not replaced until 2018 whenPrime MinisterTheresa May appointedCaroline Dinenage as the new Minister of Care.[5] Dinenage stayed in her role whenBoris JohnsonbecamePrime Minister and served in theFirst Johnson ministry and into theSecond Johnson ministry.
As part of the2020 British cabinet reshuffle, a number of junior ministers were moved around. Dinenage was made the newMinister of State for Digital and Culture.[6]Helen Whately was her replacement.[7][8] Helen Whatley has been in charge of government response to social care during theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom,[9] particularly in reference tovaccination deployment.[10]
The Minister of State for Social Care leads on the following:[1]
| Name | Portrait | Took office | Left office | Political party | Prime Minister | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minister of State for Social Services | |||||||
| Stephen Swingler MP forNewcastle-under-Lyme | 1 November 1968 | 19 February 1969 | Labour | Harold Wilson | |||
| David Ennals MP forDover |  | 1 November 1968 | 19 June 1970 | Labour | Harold Wilson | ||
| Baroness Serota | 25 February 1969 | 19 June 1970 | Labour | Harold Wilson | |||
| Minister of State for Care Services | |||||||
| Ivan Lewis MP forBury South |  | 15 May 2006 | 3 October 2008 | Labour | Tony Blair(2006–2007) Gordon Brown(2007–2008) | ||
| Phil Hope MP forCorby |  | 5 October 2008 | 11 May 2010 | Labour | Gordon Brown | ||
| Paul Burstow MP forSutton and Cheam |  | 11 May 2010 | 4 September 2012 | Liberal Democrat | David Cameron | ||
| Minister of State for Care and Support | |||||||
| Norman Lamb MP forNorth Norfolk | .jpg) | 4 September 2012 | 8 May 2015 | Liberal Democrat | David Cameron | ||
| Minister of State for Community and Social Care | |||||||
| Alistair Burt MP forNorth East Bedfordshire |  | 11 May 2015 | 15 July 2016 | Conservative | David Cameron | ||
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Care and Support | |||||||
| David Mowat MP forWarrington South |  | 14 July 2016 | 9 June 2017 | Conservative | Theresa May | ||
| Minister of State for Social Care | |||||||
| Caroline Dinenage MP forGosport |  | 9 January 2018 | 13 February 2020 | Conservative | Theresa May(2018–2019) Boris Johnson(2019–2020) | ||
| Helen Whately MP forFaversham and Mid Kent |  | 13 February 2020 | 16 September 2021 | Conservative | Boris Johnson | ||
| Minister of State for Care and Mental Health | |||||||
| Gillian Keegan MP forChichester |  | 16 September 2021 | 8 September 2022 | Conservative | Boris Johnson | ||
| Minister of State for Health | |||||||
| Robert Jenrick MP forNewark |  | 7 September 2022 | 25 October 2022 | Conservative | Liz Truss | ||
| Minister of State for Social Care | |||||||
| Helen Whately MP forFaversham and Mid Kent | | 26 October 2022 | 5 July 2024 | Conservative | Rishi Sunak | ||
| Stephen Kinnock MP forAberafan Maesteg | | 8 July 2024 | Present | Labour | Keir Starmer | ||