The
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Security worked at the
Department of Health and Social Security. The future
Prime Minister John Major held this office. The office was known as
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health from 1987 to 1990.
Nicola Blackwood lost her seat in the
snap 2017 general election and was replaced as a minister by
Steve Brine. During the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the minister was placed in charge of public health policy. The office of
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment was created later and was held by
Nadhim Zahawi from 28 November 2020 to 15 September 2021. Zahawi was briefly
shadowed by
Neale Hanvey of the
Scottish National Party (SNP) but Hanvey had to resign following his support for a defamation case against a parliamentary colleague,
Kirsty Blackman. In February 2021, Zahawi announced
schools in England would reopen on 8 March. In the
2021 British cabinet reshuffle, responsibilities for vaccines were merged with those for public health and given to
Maggie Throup in the office of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Vaccines and Public Health. After the
2024 United Kingdom general election,
Andrew Gwynne would be named as the new Labour Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention. In February 2025, after Gwynne was dismissed by the government,
Ashley Dalton would be named as the new minister. In March 2026
Sharon Hodgson was appointed following
Ashley Dalton resigning on health grounds. == Responsibilities ==