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Ministerial role

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Organisations: Department of Health and Social Care
Current role holder: The Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP

Responsibilities

The Secretary of State is responsible for the work of the Department of Health and Social Care, including:

  • overall financial control and oversight of NHS delivery and performance
  • oversight of social care policy

Current role holder

The Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP

Yvette Cooper was appointed Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on 20 July 2026. She was previously Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs between 5 September 2025 and 20 July 2026. She was previously Secretary of State for the Home Department from 5 July 2024 to 5 September 2025.

She was elected as the MP for Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley in July 2024.

More about this person

Previous holders of this role

  1. The Rt Hon James Murray MP

    2026 to 2026

  2. The Rt Hon Wes Streeting MP

    2024 to 2026

  3. The Rt Hon Victoria Atkins MP

    2023 to 2024

  4. The Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP

    2022 to 2023

  5. The Rt Hon Thérèse Coffey

    2022 to 2022

  6. The Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP

    2022 to 2022

  7. The Rt Hon Sajid Javid

    2021 to 2022

  8. The Rt Hon Matt Hancock

    2018 to 2021

  9. The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP

    2018 to 2018