Minister of State for Social Care (UK)

United Kingdom Minister of State for Social Care
Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
Incumbent Stephen Kinnock since 8 July 2024
Department of Health and Social Care
Style	Minister
Nominator	Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Appointer	The Monarch on advice of the Prime Minister
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure
Website	https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/minister-of-state--143

The Minister of State for Social Care is a mid-level position in the Department of Health and Social Care in the British government. ^[1] The minister often deputises for the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care alongside the Minister of State for Health and Secondary Care. The minister is in charge of social care in England. ^[1]

History

In the 1960s, the role was known as Minister of State for Social Services in the Department of Social Security.

The position was created in 2006, with Ivan Lewis being made Minister of State for Care Services. ^[2]

After the Conservative victory in the 2015 United Kingdom general election Alistair Burt returned to Government as Minister of State for Care and Support in the Department 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 to Brexit. ^[3]

The position was given to David Mowat and renamed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Care and Support. David Mowat lost his Warrington South seat in the snap 2017 general election. ^[4] He was not replaced until 2018 when Prime Minister Theresa May appointed Caroline Dinenage as the new Minister of Care. ^[5] Dinenage stayed in her role when Boris Johnson became Prime Minister and served in the First Johnson ministry and into the Second Johnson ministry.

As part of the 2020 British cabinet reshuffle, a number of junior ministers were moved around. Dinenage was made the new Minister 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 the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, ^[9] particularly in reference to vaccination deployment. ^[10]

Responsibilities

The Minister of State for Social Care leads on the following: ^[1]

• adult social care:
  • winter planning for adult social care
  • funding and markets (charging reform)
  • quality (system reform)
  • workforce
• integration, including discharge
• community health services
• major diseases:
  • cancer
  • diabetes
  • strokes
• rare diseases
• screening
• dementia
• end-of-life care
• COVID-19 vaccine licensing
• long-term conditions

Minister of State for Social Care

Name		Portrait	Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
Minister of State for Social Services
	Stephen Swingler MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme		1 November 1968	19 February 1969	Labour		Harold Wilson
	David Ennals MP for Dover		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 for Bury South		15 May 2006	3 October 2008	Labour		Tony Blair (2006–2007) Gordon Brown (2007–2008)
	Phil Hope MP for Corby		5 October 2008	11 May 2010	Labour		Gordon Brown
	Paul Burstow MP for Sutton and Cheam		11 May 2010	4 September 2012	Liberal Democrat		David Cameron
Minister of State for Care and Support
	Norman Lamb MP for North Norfolk		4 September 2012	8 May 2015	Liberal Democrat		David Cameron
Minister of State for Community and Social Care
	Alistair Burt MP for North East Bedfordshire		11 May 2015	15 July 2016	Conservative		David Cameron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Care and Support
	David Mowat MP for Warrington South		14 July 2016	9 June 2017	Conservative		Theresa May
Minister of State for Social Care
	Caroline Dinenage MP for Gosport		9 January 2018	13 February 2020	Conservative		Theresa May (2018–2019) Boris Johnson (2019–2020)
	Helen Whately MP for Faversham and Mid Kent		13 February 2020	16 September 2021	Conservative		Boris Johnson
Minister of State for Care and Mental Health
	Gillian Keegan MP for Chichester		16 September 2021	8 September 2022	Conservative		Boris Johnson
Minister of State for Health
	Robert Jenrick MP for Newark		7 September 2022	25 October 2022	Conservative		Liz Truss
Minister of State for Social Care
	Helen Whately MP for Faversham and Mid Kent		26 October 2022	5 July 2024	Conservative		Rishi Sunak
	Stephen Kinnock MP for Aberafan Maesteg		8 July 2024	Present	Labour		Keir Starmer

References

1. "Minister of State (Minister for Care)". GOV.UK. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
2. Samuel, Mithran (29 July 2008). "Ivan Lewis challenges adult care sector to deliver". Community Care. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
3. May, Josh (5 July 2016). "Alistair Burt announces resignation as Health Minister". PoliticsHome.com. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
4. Coles, Amy (9 June 2017). "Warrington South won by Labour as Faisal Rashid snatches Tory seat". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
5. "Hft welcomes new Minister of State for Care". Politics Home. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
6. Douglas, Alex (17 February 2020). "New Minister of Care appointed following cabinet reshuffle". Access and Mobility Professional. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
7. "New jobs for Kent MPs in government reshuffle". Kent Online. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
8. "New Minister of State for Care". Care Management Matters. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
9. "Too soon for families of vaccinated care home residents to visit loved ones, says Helen Whately". inews.co.uk. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
10. "One in three care home workers turned down vaccine, JCVI boss tells MPs". LBC. Retrieved 24 February 2021.

See also

• Health minister