The Minister of State for Care and Mental Health was a ministerial position within the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, in charge of mental health and social care policy.

History

Social care

In 2006,

Ivan Lewis Ivan Lewis (born 4 March 1967) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bury South from 1997 to 2019, initially as a member of the Labour Party then as an independent from 2017. After serving in various ministerial ...

was appointed Minister of State for Care Services in the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...

. He was succeeded in the position by

Phil Hope Philip Ian Hope (born 19 April 1955) is a former British Labour and Co-operative politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Corby from 1997 until 2010, when he lost his seat to the Conservatives. He held several ministerial roles duri ...

in 2008. Following the 2010 general election,

Paul Burstow Paul Kenneth Burstow (born 13 May 1962) is a British former politician who served as the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Sutton and Cheam for 18 years, from 1997 to 2015, when he was defeated by Paul Scully. He was appointed Ministe ...

of the Liberal Democrats served as minister for two years before being replaced by

Norman Lamb Sir Norman Peter Lamb (born 16 September 1957) is a British politician and solicitor. He was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for North Norfolk from 2001 to 2019, and was the chair of the Science and Technology Select Committee ...

as Minister of State for Care and Support. After the Conservative victory in the 2015 general election,

Alistair Burt Alistair James Hendrie Burt (born 25 May 1955) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Bedfordshire from 2001 until 2019. He was previously MP for his native Bury North in Greater Manchester from 1983 until ...

was appointed Minister of State for Community and Social Care. The position was given to

David Mowat David John Mowat (born 20 February 1957) is a former Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Warrington South (UK Parliament constituency), Warrington South, and wa ...

and renamed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Care and Support. After Mowat lost his

Warrington South Warrington South is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Andy Carter, a Conservative Party politician. Constituency profile Warrington South is one of two seats covering the Borough of Warri ...

seat at the 2017 general election, the position remained vacant. In 2018

Caroline Dinenage Caroline Julia Dinenage, Baroness Lancaster of Kimbolton, (born 28 October 1971), also styled as Dame Caroline Dinenage, is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gosport since 2010. She was re- ...

was appointed as the new Minister of State for Social Care. During the 2020 reshuffle,

Helen Whately Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately (''née'' Lightwood; born 23 June 1976) is a British politician serving as Minister of State for Social Care since October 2022, and previously from 2020 to 2021. She also served as Exchequer Secretary to the Treas ...

was appointed as Dinenage's successor.

Mental health

Following the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

in June 2017,

Jackie Doyle-Price Jacqueline Doyle-Price (born 5 August 1969) is a British Conservative Party politician and former civil servant. She was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Thurrock in the 2010 general election. In September 2022, she was app ...

was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health and Inequalities, the country's first mental health minister. The portfolio was expanded on

World Mental Health Day World Mental Health Day (10 October) is an international day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma. It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global m ...

2018 to become Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health, Inequalities and Suicide Prevention. In July 2019,

Nadine Dorries Nadine Vanessa Dorries (''née'' Bargery, 21 May 1957) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2021 to 2022 under Prime Minister Boris Johnson. A member of the Conservative Party, she ...

was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Suicide Prevention and Mental Health in the incoming Johnson ministry. In May 2020, the position was raised from

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of Minister (government), government minist ...

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

, to become Minister of State for Patient Safety, Suicide Prevention and Mental Health.

Appointment

In September 2021,

Gillian Keegan Gillian Keegan (born 13 March 1968) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Education. A member of the Conservative Party, she previously served as Minister of State for Care and Mental Health from 2021 to 2022 and Parliamentar ...

was appointed as Minister of State for Care and Mental Health, a new position which combined the

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

and

social care Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

portfolios. In September 2022, the social care and mental health portfolios were divided.

Robert Jenrick Robert Edward Jenrick (born 9 January 1982) is a British politician serving as Minister of State for Immigration since October 2022. He served as Minister of State for Health from September to October 2022. He served as Secretary of State for H ...

was appointed as

Minister of State for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate Minister of Mental Health, ministers ...

and

Caroline Johnson Caroline Elizabeth Johnson (''née'' Burton; born 31 December 1977) is a British Conservative Party politician and consultant paediatrician who served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health and Public Health from Septemb ...

as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health and Public Health.

Responsibilities

The Minister of State for Care and Mental Health led on the following: * adult social care * health and care integration * dementia, disabilities and long-term conditions * NHS Continuing Healthcare * mental health * suicide prevention and crisis prevention * offender health * vulnerable groups * bereavement

Minister

References

{{Department of Health and Social Care Health ministers of the United Kingdom Department of Health and Social Care Health in the United Kingdom Social care in England Social care in England and Wales Mental health in the United Kingdom Suicide prevention