Minister of State for Social Care (UK)

Junior minister in the British Government

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. 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		Took office	Left office	Political party
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