The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwise devolved to the Scottish Government, Welsh Government or Northern Ireland Executive. It oversees the English National Health Service (NHS). The department is led by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care with three ministers of state and three parliamentary under-secretaries of state.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an executive non-departmental public body, in England, of the Department of Health and Social Care, that publishes guidelines in four areas:
The parliamentary under-secretary of state is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the UK government, immediately junior to a Minister of State, which is itself junior to a Secretary of State.
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is "to maximise the impact of science and technology for the defence and security of the UK". The agency is headed by Paul Hollinshead as its chief executive, with the board being chaired by Adrian Belton. Ministerial responsibility lies with the Minister for Defence Procurement.
Ara Warkes Darzi, Baron Darzi of Denham is an Armenian-British surgeon, academic, and politician.
The Health and Social Care Select Committee is a Departmental Select Committee of the British House of Commons, the lower house of the United Kingdom Parliament. Its remit is to examine the policy, administration and expenditure of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and its associated agencies and public bodies. The Clerks of the Committee are Previn Desai and Joanna Dodd.
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, commonly referred to as the Health Secretary, is a cabinet position in the Scottish Government. The Cabinet Secretary is responsible for the Health and Social Care Directorates and NHS Scotland.
Healthcare in England is mainly provided by the National Health Service (NHS), a public body that provides healthcare to all permanent residents in England, that is free at the point of use. The body is one of four forming the UK National Health Service, as health is a devolved matter; there are differences with the provisions for healthcare elsewhere in the United Kingdom, and in England it is overseen by NHS England. Though the public system dominates healthcare provision in England, private health care and a wide variety of alternative and complementary treatments are available for those willing and able to pay.
The National Health Service in England was created by the National Health Service Act 1946. Responsibility for the NHS in Wales was passed to the Secretary of State for Wales in 1969, leaving the Secretary of State for Social Services responsible for the NHS in England by itself.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is the British government's major funder of clinical, public health, social care and translational research. With a budget of over £1.2 billion in 2020–21, its mission is to "improve the health and wealth of the nation through research". The NIHR was established in 2006 under the government's Best Research for Best Health strategy, and is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. As a research funder and research partner of the NHS, public health and social care, the NIHR complements the work of the Medical Research Council. NIHR focuses on translational research, clinical research and applied health and social care research.
Andrew George Stephenson FRSA is a former British politician who most recently served as Minister of State for Health and Secondary Care from November 2023 to July 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Pendle in Lancashire from 2010 until 2024.
George William Freeman is a British Conservative Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Norfolk since 2010. He previously served as Minister for Science, Research and Innovation from September 2021 until his resignation in July 2022, and again from October 2022 until November 2023.
Matthew Steven Gould is a British former civil servant and diplomat who is the Chief Executive Officer of international science-led conservation charity ZSL. He was previously National Director for Digital Transformation in NHS England (2019–2022), Director General for Digital and Media Policy in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (2015–19) and Ambassador to Israel (2010–15).
NHS Test and Trace was a government-funded service in England, established in 2020 to track and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The programme is part of the UK Health Security Agency; the service and the agency are headed by Jenny Harries.
The office of Minister of State for Skills, formerly Minister of State for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education and previously Minister of State for Universities, is a mid-level position in the Department for Education in the British government. The position has been filled by Jacqui Smith since July 2024. The minister has oversight over skills and higher and further education, including universities and the Student Loans Company.
The Vaccine Taskforce in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was set up in April 2020 by the Second Johnson ministry, in collaboration with Chief Scientific Advisor Patrick Vallance and Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty, in order to facilitate the path towards the introduction of a COVID-19 vaccine in the UK and its global distribution. The taskforce coordinated the research efforts of government with industry, academics and funding agencies in order to expedite vaccine development and deployment.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health and Women's Health Strategy is a ministerial position within the Government of the United Kingdom, in charge of mental health and women's health policy.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Innovation is a junior position in the Department of Health and Social Care in the British government. It is currently held by The 5th Baron Bethell, MP, who took the office on 9 March 2020.
The Office for Life Sciences (OLS) is part of the British government. The organisation supports the delivery of the UK Government's life sciences and innovation policy by connecting decision making across government. Informed by productive engagement with industry, the OLS promotes research, innovation, and technology within government for the improvement of healthcare.
