Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The secretary of state for work and pensions, also referred to as the work and pensions secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Department for Work and Pensions.[3] The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2019) |
| United Kingdom Secretary of State for Work and Pensions | |
|---|---|
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| Department for Work and Pensions | |
| Style | Work and Pensions Secretary (informal) The Right Honourable (within the UK and Commonwealth) |
| Type | Minister of the Crown |
| Status | Secretary of State |
| Member of | |
| Reports to | The Prime Minister |
| Seat | Westminster |
| Nominator | The Prime Minister |
| Appointer | The Monarch (on the advice of the Prime Minister) |
| Term length | At His Majesty's Pleasure |
| Formation |
|
| First holder | George Barnes (as Minister for Pensions) |
| Deputy | Minister of State for Employment |
| Salary | £159,038 per annum (2022)[1] (including £86,584 MP salary)[2] |
The office holder works alongside the other work and pensions ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow secretary of state for work and pensions and the shadow secretary of state for the future of work. The performance of the secretary of state is also scrutinised by the Work and Pensions Select Committee.
The office is currently held by Liz Kendall.
Corresponding to what is generally known as a labour minister in many other countries, the work and pensions secretary's remit includes:
It was created on 8 June 2001 by the merger of the employment division of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security.[5]
The Ministry of Pensions was created in 1916 to handle the payment of war pensions to former members of the Armed Forces and their dependants. In 1944 a separate Ministry of National Insurance (titled the Ministry of Social Insurance until 17 November 1944) was formed; the two merged in 1953 as the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance.[5] In 1966 the Ministry was renamed the Ministry of Social Security, but this was short-lived, as the ministry merged with the Ministry of Health in 1968 to form the Department of Health and Social Security. Confusingly, the secretary of state responsible for this department was titled the Secretary of State for Social Services. The department was de-merged in 1988, creating the separate Department of Health and Department of Social Security.
Colour key (for political parties):
Labour / Conservative / Liberal / National Labour / National Independent
| Minister | Term of office | Political party | Cabinet | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
George Nicoll Barnes | 10 December 1916 | 17 August 1917 | Labour | Lloyd George | |
 |
John Hodge | 17 August 1917 | 10 January 1919 | Labour | ||
 |
Laming Worthington-Evans | 10 January 1919 | 2 April 1920 | Conservative | ||
 |
Ian Macpherson | 2 April 1920 | 19 October 1922 | Liberal | ||
 |
George Tryon | 31 October 1922 | 22 January 1924 | Conservative | Law | |
| Baldwin I | ||||||
 |
Frederick Roberts | 23 January 1924 | 3 November 1924 | Labour | MacDonald I | |
|
George Tryon | 11 November 1924 | 4 June 1929 | Conservative | Baldwin II | |
|
Frederick Roberts | 7 June 1929 | 24 August 1931 | Labour | MacDonald II | |
|
George Tryon | 3 September 1931 | 18 June 1935 | Conservative | National I | |
| National II | ||||||
 |
Robert Hudson | 18 June 1935 | 30 July 1936 | Conservative | National III | |
 |
Herwald Ramsbotham | 30 July 1936 | 7 June 1939 | Conservative | ||
| National IV | ||||||
 |
Walter Womersley | 7 June 1939 | 26 July 1945 | Conservative | Chamberlain War | |
| Churchill War | ||||||
| Churchill Caretaker | ||||||
 |
Wilfred Paling | 3 August 1945 | 17 April 1947 | Labour | Attlee | |
| John Burns Hynd | 17 April 1947 | 7 October 1947 | Labour | |||
 |
George Buchanan | 7 October 1947 | 2 July 1948 | Labour | ||
 |
Hilary Marquand | 2 July 1948 | 17 January 1951 | Labour | ||
 |
George Isaacs | 17 January 1951 | 26 October 1951 | Labour | ||
 |
Derick Heathcoat-Amory | 5 November 1951 | 3 September 1953 | Conservative | Churchill III | |
| Minister | Term of office | Political party | Cabinet | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
William Jowitt | 8 October 1944 | 23 May 1945 | Labour | Churchill War | |
|
Leslie Hore-Belisha | 25 May 1945 | 26 July 1945 | National Independent | Churchill Caretaker | |
|
Jim Griffiths | 4 August 1945 | 28 February 1950 | Labour | Attlee | |
|
Edith Summerskill | 28 February 1950 | 26 October 1951 | Labour | ||
|
Osbert Peake | 31 October 1951 | 3 September 1953 | Conservative | Churchill III | |
| Posts of Minister of Pensions and Minister of National Insurance merged in 1953. | ||||||
| Minister | Term of office | Political party | Cabinet | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Osbert Peake | 3 September 1953 | 20 December 1955 | Conservative | Churchill III | |
| Eden | ||||||
|
John Boyd-Carpenter | 20 December 1955 | 16 July 1962 | Conservative | ||
| Macmillan I | ||||||
| Macmillan II | ||||||
|
Niall Macpherson | 16 July 1962 | 21 October 1963 | Conservative | ||
|
Richard Wood | 21 October 1963 | 16 October 1964 | Conservative | Douglas-Home | |
| Margaret Herbison | 18 October 1964 | 6 August 1966 | Labour | Wilson I | ||
| Minister | Term of office | Political party | Cabinet | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Margaret Herbison | 6 August 1966 | 26 July 1967 | Labour | Wilson II | ||
|
Judith Hart | 26 July 1967 | 1 November 1968 | Labour | ||
| Secretary of State | Term of office | Political party | Cabinet | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Richard Crossman | 1 November 1968 | 19 June 1970 | Labour | Wilson II | |
| Keith Joseph | 20 June 1970 | 4 March 1974 | Conservative | Heath | ||
 |
Barbara Castle | 5 March 1974 | 8 April 1976 | Labour | Wilson III | |
| Wilson IV | ||||||
 |
David Ennals | 8 April 1976 | 4 May 1979 | Labour | Callaghan | |
| Patrick Jenkin[6] | 5 May 1979 | 13 September 1981 | Conservative | Thatcher I | ||
 |
Norman Fowler[7] | 14 September 1981 | 13 June 1987 | Conservative | Thatcher II | |
 |
John Moore[8] | 13 June 1987 | 24 July 1988 | Conservative | Thatcher III | |
| Post split into the Secretary of State for Social Security and the Secretary of State for Health in 1988. | ||||||
| Secretary of State | Term of office | Political party | Cabinet | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
John Moore[8] | 25 July 1988 | 22 July 1989 | Conservative | Thatcher III | |
 |
Tony Newton[9] | 23 July 1989 | 9 April 1992 | Conservative | ||
| Major I | ||||||
 |
Peter Lilley[10] | 10 April 1992 | 1 May 1997 | Conservative | Major II | |
 |
Harriet Harman[11] | 1 May 1997 | 27 July 1998 | Labour | Blair I | |
 |
Alistair Darling[12] | 27 July 1998 | 8 June 2001 | Labour | ||
* Incumbent's length of term last updated: 17 December 2024.
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