Ministerial role

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Organisations: Department of Health and Social Care
Current role holder: The Rt Hon Victoria Atkins 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 Victoria Atkins MP

Victoria Atkins was appointed Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on 13 November 2023.

She was previously Financial Secretary to the Treasury between 27 October 2022 and 13 November 2023, and Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice and Minister for Afghan Resettlement between September 2021 and 6 July 2022.

Victoria led the Ministry of Justice’s work on prison operations and policy, youth justice, tackling violence against women and girls, and rape and serious sexual offences.

From 2017 to 2021 Victoria Atkins was the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability at the Home Office. This role included work on domestic abuse, honour-based violence, sexual exploitation and FGM.

Victoria Atkins was elected as the Member of Parliament for Louth and Horncastle in May 2015. Prior to her election, Victoria Atkins was a criminal barrister specialising in prosecuting serious organised crime.

More about this person

Previous holders of this role

  1. The Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP

    2022 to 2023

  2. The Rt Hon Thérèse Coffey MP

    2022 to 2022

  3. The Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP

    2022 to 2022

  4. The Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP

    2021 to 2022

  5. The Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP

    2018 to 2021

  6. The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP

    2018 to 2018