# Minister of State for Social Care (UK)

The Minister of State for Social Care is a mid-level position in the Department of Health and Social Care in the British government. 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.

## 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.
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.
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. He was not replaced until 2018 when Prime Minister Theresa May appointed Caroline Dinenage as the new Minister of Care. 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. Helen Whately was her replacement. Helen Whatley has been in charge of government response to social care during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, particularly in reference to vaccination deployment.

## Responsibilities

The Minister of State for Social Care leads on the following:
* 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 | Name | 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 |