The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Families and Wellbeing, formerly the Minister of State for Schools and Childhood is a junior ministerial position in the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Departme ...

, previously the

Department for Children, Schools and Families Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) was a department of the UK government, between 2007 and 2010, responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education. DCSF was replac ...

and Department for Education and Skills, in 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 i ...

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 ...

. The post was previously known as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families until the appointment of the incumbent Minister of State

Kelly Tolhurst Kelly Jane Tolhurst (born 23 August 1978) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochester and Strood since 2015. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as Minister of State for Schools and Childhood ...

on 7 September 2022, who succeeded

Brendan Clarke-Smith Brendan Clarke-Smith (born 17 August 1980) is a British Conservative Party politician and former teacher serving as Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office between September and October 2022. He served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of ...

History

Margaret Hodge Dame Margaret Eve Hodge, Lady Hodge, (née Oppenheimer, formerly Watson; born 8 September 1944) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Barking since 1994. A member of the Labour Party, she previously served as ...

was the first person to hold the position after it was announced in 2003. Maria Eagle was the Minister from 2005 to 2006 taking Hodge's place, and

Beverley Hughes Beverley June Hughes, Baroness Hughes of Stretford (born 30 March 1950) is a British politician serving as Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, Hughes was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stretford an ...

held the position from 2006 until June 2009,Lewin, Tamar
The Need to Invest in Young Children

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

. Accessed 30 December 2008. when Dawn Primarolo took over until Labour lost office in May 2010.

List of Ministers

Colour key (for political parties):

References

Ministers for children, young people and families Ministerial offices in the United Kingdom 2003 establishments in the United Kingdom Department for Education Education ministers of the United Kingdom {{UK-gov-stub