The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a
secretary of state in the
Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the
Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the
Cabinet of the United Kingdom
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the senior decision-making body of His Majesty's Government. A committee of the Privy Council, it is chaired by the prime minister and its members include secretaries of state and other senior ministers.
T ...
.
The office holder works alongside the other
Education ministers. The corresponding
shadow minister is the
Shadow Secretary of State for Education, and the work of the Secretary of State is also scrutinised by the
Education Select Committee.
The current education secretary is
Gillian Keegan.
Responsibilities
Corresponding to what is generally known as an
education minister in many other countries, the education secretary's remit is concerned primarily with
England. This includes:
* Early years
* Children's social care
* Teacher recruitment and retention
* The
national curriculum
* School improvement
* Academies and free schools
* Further education
* Apprenticeships and skills
* Higher education
* Oversight of the departmental coronavirus (COVID-19) response
* Oversight of school infrastructure improvement
History
A committee of the
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
was appointed in 1839 to supervise the distribution of certain government grants in the education field. The members of the committee were the
Lord President of the Council
The lord president of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the ...
, the
Secretaries of State, the
First Lord of the Treasury, and the
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
. From 1857 a vice-president was appointed who took responsibility for policy.
On 1 April 1900, the
Board of Education Act 1899 abolished the committee and instituted a new board, headed by a president. The members were initially very similar to the old committee and the president of the board was the Lord President of the council; however, from 1902 this ceased to be the case and the president of the board was appointed separately (although the Marquess of Londonderry happened to hold both jobs from 1903 to 1905).
The
Education Act 1944
The Education Act 1944 (7 and 8 Geo 6 c. 31) made major changes in the provision and governance of secondary schools in England and Wales. It is also known as the "Butler Act" after the President of the Board of Education, R. A. Butler. Historians ...
replaced the Board of Education with a new
Ministry of Education.
The position of Secretary of State for Education and Science was created in 1964 with the merger of the offices of Minister of Education and the Minister of Science. The postholder oversaw the
Department of Education and Science.
From June 1970 to March 1974, this post was held by future prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
In 1992, the responsibility for
science was transferred to
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...
's Office of Public Service, and the department was renamed Department of Education. In 1995 the department merged with the
Department of Employment to become the
Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) and in 2001 the employment functions were transferred to a newly created
Department for Work and Pensions, with the DfEE becoming the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). In 2007 under Gordon Brown's new premiership, the DfES was split into two new departments; the Department for Children, Schools and Families, and a Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, under two new secretaries of state.
The ministerial office of the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills was, in late 2009, amalgamated into the new ministerial office of the resurgent politician
Peter Mandelson, made a peer and given the title Lord Mandelson as the newly created
Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills – itself an amalgamation of the responsibilities of the Secretaries of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Innovation, Universities and Skills. The Secretary of State has remit over higher education policy as well as British business and enterprise.
From 14 July 2016 to 8 January 2018 the post was held by
Justine Greening, as her predecessor,
Nicky Morgan, was sacked by
Theresa May. Greening resigned after rejecting a
reshuffle
A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of Political minister, ministers in their Cabinet (government), cabinet, or when the Head of State changes the head of government and a number of ...
to the
Department for Work and Pensions.
On 7 July 2022,
Michelle Donelan became the shortest-serving cabinet member in British history, when she resigned as Education Secretary 35 hours after being appointed.
List of office holders
Vice-President of the Committee of the Council on Education (1857–1902)
Colour key (for political parties):
President of the Board of Education (1900–1944)
Colour key (for political parties):
Minister of Education (1944–1964)
Colour key (for political parties):
Secretary of State for Education and Science (1964–1992)
Colour key (for political parties):
Secretary of State for Education (1992–1995)
Colour key (for political parties):
Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1995–2001)
Colour key (for political parties):
Secretary of State for Education and Skills (2001–2007)
Colour key (for political parties):
Secretaries of State for Children, Schools and Families (2007–2010); and Innovation, Universities and Skills (2007–2009)
In 2007, the education portfolio was divided between the
Department for Children, Schools and Families (responsible for infant, primary and secondary education) and the
Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (responsible for further, higher and adult education). In 2009, the latter department was merged into the
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
, type = Department
, logo = Department for Business, Innovation and Skills logo.svg
, logo_width = 200px
, logo_caption =
, picture = File:Лондан. 2014. Жнівень 26.JPG
, seal =
, se ...
.
Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families
Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills
Secretary of State for Education (2010–present)
The
Department for Education and the post of Secretary of State for Education were recreated in 2010.
Responsibility for higher and adult education remained with the
Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (
Vince Cable 2010–2015,
Sajid Javid 2015–2016), until reunited with the Department for Education in 2016.
Colour key (for political parties):
* Incumbent's length of term last updated: .
References
External links
Department for EducationDepartment for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)
{{Secretaries of State for Education
Education and Skills
Education in the United Kingdom
Department for Education
Ministerial offices in the United Kingdom