The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health and Women's Health Strategy is 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 women's health policy.

History

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,

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...

appointed

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 ...

as the UK's first minister with responsibility for mental health. The portfolio was further expanded in October 2018, 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 ...

, to include

suicide prevention Suicide prevention is a collection of efforts to reduce the risk of suicide. Suicide is often preventable, and the efforts to prevent it may occur at the individual, relationship, community, and society level. Suicide is a serious public health ...

. This occurred while the

UK government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

hosted the first ever global mental health summit. 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 to the position in the incoming Johnson ministry, with additional responsibility for patient safety. As minister, Dorries assumed responsibility for the government's response to the impact of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

on people's mental health. The minister committed to an increase in government spending on

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 ...

as a result of the

lockdowns A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...

during the

. 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 ...

. During the

cabinet reshuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the Head of State changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parlia ...

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

Minister of State for Care and Mental Health The Minister of State for Care and Mental Health was a ministerial position within the Government of the United Kingdom, in charge of mental health and social care policy. History Social care In 2006, Ivan Lewis was appointed Minister of Sta ...

, a position which combined with the 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 June 2022, the

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

published the Draft Mental Health Bill, stating the government's intention to modernise the existing

Mental Health Act 1983 The Mental Health Act 1983 (c.20) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It covers the reception, care and treatment of mentally disordered people, the management of their property and other related matters, forming part of the ment ...

. In September 2022, the incoming

Truss ministry Liz Truss was invited by Queen Elizabeth II—two days before the monarch's death—to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister of the United Kingdom on 6 September 2022. Johnson resigned as leader of the Conservative Party the previous day a ...

divided the mental health and care portfolios and appointed

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 ...

to the former, with responsibility for mental health and public health. Dr Johnson's tenure was unusually short, due to the

collapse Collapse or its variants may refer to: Concepts * Collapse (structural) * Collapse (topology), a mathematical concept * Collapsing manifold * Collapse, the action of collapsing or telescoping objects * Collapsing user interface elements ** ...

of the government in the following month. In October 2022,

Maria Caulfield Maria Colette Caulfield (born 6 August 1973) is a British politician and nurse serving as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health and Women’s Health Strategy and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women since Octobe ...

was appointed and given responsibility for mental health and women's health in the Sunak ministry.

Responsibilities

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health and Women's Health Strategy leads on the following: * women’s health * maternity services * gender identity services * cosmetic regulation * DHSC litigation * mental health: ** children and young people and early intervention ** Mental Health Act ** suicide prevention and crisis prevention * bereavement * disabilities, including autism * offender health * patient safety: ** clinical negligence ** historic inquiries ** quality regulation ** death certification ** indemnity ** Patient Safety Commissioner * Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme * patient experience: ** ombudsman, complaints ** whistleblowing, health ethics * Government Equalities Office portfolio * UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA): ** COVID-19 – COVID-19 status certification, variant tracing, shielding ** environmental health (air quality, chemicals, radiation) ** health security at the border ** infectious diseases (including monkeypox) ** seasonal flu * vaccines: ** COVID-19 vaccine deployment and uptake ** routine immunisations and vaccinations * emergency preparedness including Ukraine * sponsorship of: ** Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) ** Care Quality Commission (CQC) ** NHS Resolution ** Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) ** Human Tissue Authority (HTA) ** UKHSA

List of ministers

Notes

References

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

History

Responsibilities

List of ministers

See also

Notes

References