Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Royal Arms of Her Majesty's Government
Incumbent Matt Hancock MP since 9 July 2018
Department of Health and Social Care
Style	Mr. Secretary (informal) The Right Honourable (UK and the Commonwealth)
Status	Minister of the Crown
Member of	Cabinet Privy Council
Reports to	Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Appointer	The Crown on advice of the Prime Minister
Term length	At Her Majesty's pleasure
Formation	14 October 1854
First holder	Sir Benjamin Hall
Salary	£143,552 (including salary as MP)
Website	www.gov.uk/government/ministers/secretary-of-state-for-health-and-social-care

The secretary of state for health and social care is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and leads the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), with responsibility for England's National Health Service (NHS). The Secretary serves as the principle adviser to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on all health matters. The office forms part of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.

The current secretary of state for health and social care is Matt Hancock MP, since his appointment by then–Prime Minister Theresa May, in July 2018. Mr Hancock retained his position upon the elevation of Boris Johnson to Prime Minister. In February 2021, Hancock was found guilty by a High Court Judge of failing to disclose sufficient details of vast quantities of Coronavirus contracts awarded by his department.

The secretary has two principle deputies: the minister of state for health and the minister of state for social care.

Responsibilities

Corresponding to what is generally known as a health minister in many other countries, the health secretary's remit includes:

• Oversight of England's National Health Service, including:
  • Delivery of care
  • Performance
  • Financial management
• Matters concerning England's social care policy
• Matters concerning England's national public health
• Relations with international health partnerships (WHO)

History

Since devolution in 1999, the position holder's responsibility for the NHS is mainly restricted to the health service in England, with the holder's counterparts in Scotland and Wales 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 had a larger role than now in the co-ordination 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.

The first Boards of Health were created by Orders in Council dated 21 June, 14 November and 21 November 1831. In 1848, a General Board of Health was created with the first commissioner of woods and forests as its president. In 1854, this board was reconstituted and the president appointed separately. However, the board was abolished in 1858 and its function of overseeing the 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.

The Ministry of Health was created in 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 proper.

From 1968, it was amalgamated with the Ministry of Social Security under the secretary of state for social services, until a de-merger of the Department of Health and Social Security on 25 July 1988.

List of ministers

Colour key (for political parties):
  Whig   Conservative   Radical   Peelite   Liberal   Labour   Unionist   National Labour   National Liberal

President of the Board of Health (1848–1858)
Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
As First Commissioner of Woods and Forests						rowspan=5 style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" |	Lord John Russell
style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" |	The Earl of Carlisle		1848	17 April 1849	Whig
style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" |	Lord Seymour		17 April 1849	1 August 1851	Whig
As First Commissioner of Works
style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" |	Lord Seymour		1 August 1851	21 February 1852	Whig
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Lord John Manners		4 March 1852	17 December 1852	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	The Earl of Derby
style="background-color: Template:Radicals (UK)/meta/color" |	Sir William Molesworth, Bt		5 January 1853	14 October 1854	Radical	rowspan=3 style="background-color: Template:Peelite/meta/color" |	The Earl of Aberdeen (Coalition)
President of the Board of Health
height=30 style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |	Sir Benjamin Hall, Bt		14 October 1854	13 August 1855	Whig
style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color; border-top:solid 0 gray" |						rowspan=4 style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" |	The Viscount Palmerston
style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" |	William Cowper		13 August 1855	9 February 1857	Whig
style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" |	William Monsell		9 February 1857	24 September 1857	Whig
style="background-color: Template:Whig (British political party)/meta/color" |	William Cowper		24 September 1857	21 February 1858	Whig
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Charles Adderley		8 March 1858	1 September 1858	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	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)
Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Dr Christopher Addison		24 June 1919	1 April 1921	Liberal	rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" |	David Lloyd George (Coalition)
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Sir Alfred Mond, Bt		1 April 1921	19 October 1922	Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Sir Arthur Griffith-Boscawen		24 October 1922	7 March 1923 (Lost seat 1922)	Conservative	rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Scottish Unionist Party/meta/color" |	Bonar Law
height=30 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color; border-bottom:solid 0 gray;" |	Neville Chamberlain		7 March 1923	27 August 1923	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color; border-top:solid 0 gray;" |						rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Stanley Baldwin
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Sir William Joynson-Hicks, Bt		27 August 1923	22 January 1924	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	John Wheatley		22 January 1924	3 November 1924	Labour	style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Ramsay MacDonald
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Neville Chamberlain		6 November 1924	4 June 1929	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Stanley Baldwin
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Arthur Greenwood		7 June 1929	24 August 1931	Labour	style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Ramsay MacDonald
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Neville Chamberlain		25 August 1931	5 November 1931	Conservative	rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:National Labour Organisation/meta/color" |	Ramsay MacDonald (1st National Min.; 2nd National Min.)
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Sir Hilton Young		5 November 1931	7 June 1935	Conservative
rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Sir Kingsley Wood		7 June 1935	16 May 1938	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Stanley Baldwin (3rd National Min.)
rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |						Neville Chamberlain (4th National Min.; War Coalition)
style="background-color: Template:Scottish Unionist Party/meta/color" |	Dr Walter Elliot		16 May 1938	13 May 1940	Unionist
style="background-color: Template:National Labour Organisation/meta/color" |	Malcolm MacDonald		13 May 1940	8 February 1941	National Labour	rowspan=3 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Winston Churchill (War Coalition; Caretaker Min.)
style="background-color: Template:National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)/meta/color" |	Ernest Brown		8 February 1941	11 November 1943	National Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Henry Willink		11 November 1943	26 July 1945	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Aneurin Bevan		3 August 1945	17 January 1951	Labour	rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Clement Attlee
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Hilary Marquand		17 January 1951	26 October 1951	Labour
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Harry Crookshank		30 October 1951	7 May 1952	Conservative	rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Sir Winston Churchill
height=30 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |	Iain Macleod		7 May 1952	20 December 1955	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color; border-top:solid 0 gray" |						rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Sir Anthony Eden
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Robin Turton		20 December 1955	16 January 1957	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Dennis Vosper		16 January 1957	17 September 1957	Conservative	rowspan=3 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Harold Macmillan
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Derek Walker-Smith		17 September 1957	27 July 1960	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Enoch Powell		27 July 1960	20 October 1963	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Anthony Barber		20 October 1963	16 October 1964	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Scottish Unionist Party/meta/color" |	Sir Alec Douglas-Home
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Kenneth Robinson		18 October 1964	1 November 1968	Labour	style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Harold Wilson
Post merged with Ministry for Social Security in 1968.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Services (1968–1988)
Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Richard Crossman		1 November 1968	19 June 1970	Labour	style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Harold Wilson
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Sir Keith Joseph		20 June 1970	4 March 1974	Conservative	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Edward Heath
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Barbara Castle		5 March 1974	8 April 1976	Labour	style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Harold Wilson
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	David Ennals		8 April 1976	4 May 1979	Labour	style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	James Callaghan
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Patrick Jenkin		5 May 1979	14 September 1981	Conservative	rowspan=3 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Margaret Thatcher
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Norman Fowler		14 September 1981	13 June 1987	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	John Moore		13 June 1987	25 July 1988	Conservative
Post split into Secretary of State for Social Security and Secretary of State for Health in 1988.
Secretary of State for Health (1988–2018)
Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Kenneth Clarke		25 July 1988	2 November 1990	Conservative	rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Margaret Thatcher
height=30 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color; border-bottom:solid 0 gray;" |	William Waldegrave		2 November 1990	10 April 1992	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color; border-top:solid 0 gray;" |						rowspan=3 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	John Major
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Virginia Bottomley		10 April 1992	5 July 1995	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Stephen Dorrell		5 July 1995	2 May 1997	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Frank Dobson		3 May 1997	11 October 1999	Labour	rowspan=4 style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Tony Blair
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Alan Milburn		11 October 1999	13 June 2003	Labour
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	John Reid		13 June 2003	6 May 2005	Labour
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Patricia Hewitt		6 May 2005	28 June 2007	Labour
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Alan Johnson		28 June 2007	5 June 2009	Labour	rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Gordon Brown
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Andy Burnham		5 June 2009	11 May 2010	Labour
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Andrew Lansley		11 May 2010	4 September 2012	Conservative	rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	David Cameron (Coalition)
rowspan=3 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Jeremy Hunt		4 September 2012	8 January 2018	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |						David Cameron (II)
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |						Theresa May (I·II)
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (2018–present)
Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Jeremy Hunt		8 January 2018	9 July 2018	Conservative	rowspan=3 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Theresa May (II)
Hunt's tenure
height=30 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color; border-bottom:solid 0 gray;" |	Matt Hancock		9 July 2018	Incumbent	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color; border-top:solid 0 gray;" |						style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Boris Johnson (I·II)

External links

• Official website