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. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
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. The performance of the secretary of state is also scrutinised by the Work and Pensions Select Committee.
The office is currently held by Pat McFadden.
Responsibilities Corresponding to what is generally known as a labour minister in many other countries, the work and pensions secretary's remit includes:
Support people of working age Oversight of employers and pensions Fiscal Consolidation Providing support for disability Support for families and children
History 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.
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. 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.
In 2002 the position was incorporated as a corporation sole.
List of ministers and secretaries of state Colour key (for political parties): / / / /
Minister of Pensions (1916–1953)
Minister Term of office Political partyCabinet 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 ConservativeLawBaldwin I Frederick Roberts 23 January 1924 3 November 1924 LabourMacDonald I George Tryon 11 November 1924 4 June 1929 ConservativeBaldwin II Frederick Roberts 7 June 1929 24 August 1931 LabourMacDonald 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 LabourAttlee 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 ConservativeChurchill III
Minister of Social Insurance/National Insurance (1944–1953) 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 LabourAttlee Edith Summerskill 28 February 1950 26 October 1951 Labour Osbert Peake 31 October 1951 3 September 1953 ConservativeChurchill III Posts of Minister of Pensions and Minister of National Insurance merged in 1953.
Minister of Pensions and National Insurance (1953–1966)
Minister Term of office Political party Cabinet Osbert Peake 3 September 1953 20 December 1955 ConservativeChurchill IIIEden John Boyd-Carpenter 20 December 1955 16 July 1962 ConservativeMacmillan IMacmillan II Niall Macpherson 16 July 1962 21 October 1963 Conservative Richard Wood 21 October 1963 16 October 1964 ConservativeDouglas-Home Margaret Herbison 18 October 1964 6 August 1966LabourWilson I
Minister of Social Security (1966–1968)
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 for Social Services (1968–1988)
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 5 May 1979 13 September 1981 Conservative Thatcher I Norman Fowler 14 September 1981 13 June 1987 Conservative Thatcher II John Moore 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 for Social Security (1988–2001)
Secretary of State Term of office Political party Cabinet John Moore 25 July 1988 22 July 1989 ConservativeThatcher III Tony Newton 23 July 1989 9 April 1992 ConservativeMajor I Peter Lilley 10 April 1992 2 May 1997 ConservativeMajor II Harriet Harman 3 May 1997 27 July 1998LabourBlair I Alistair Darling 27 July 1998 8 June 2001 Labour
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2001–present) Secretary of State Term of office Political partyCabinet Alistair Darling 8 June 2001 29 May 2002LabourBlair II Andrew Smith 29 May 2002 8 September 2004 Labour Alan Johnson 8 September 2004 6 May 2005 Labour David Blunkett 6 May 2005 2 November 2005 LabourBlair III John Hutton 2 November 2005 28 June 2007 Labour Peter Hain 28 June 2007 24 January 2008 LabourBrown James Purnell 24 January 2008 5 June 2009 Labour Yvette Cooper 6 June 2009 11 May 2010 Labour Iain Duncan Smith 12 May 2010 18 March 2016 Conservative Cameron-CleggCameron II Stephen Crabb 19 March 2016 14 July 2016 Conservative Damian Green 14 July 2016 11 June 2017 ConservativeMay I David Gauke 11 June 2017 8 January 2018 ConservativeMay II Esther McVey 8 January 2018 15 November 2018 Conservative Amber Rudd 16 November 20187 September 2019 ConservativeJohnson I Thérèse Coffey 8 September 2019 6 September 2022 ConservativeJohnson II Chloe Smith 6 September 2022 25 October 2022 ConservativeTruss Mel Stride 25 October 2022 5 July 2024 ConservativeSunak Liz Kendall 5 July 2024 5 September 2025 LabourStarmer Pat McFadden 5 September 2025 Incumbent Labour Burnham * Incumbent's length of term last updated: .
Timeline
See also Secretary of State for Employment Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions and Financial Inclusion
References