Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention is a position in the Department of Health and Social Care in the Government of the United Kingdom. The role has previously been known as the Minister of State for Public Health.

United Kingdom Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention
Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
Incumbent Ashley Dalton since 10 February 2025
Department of Health and Social Care
Style	Minister
Appointer	The Monarch on advice of the Prime Minister
Formation	June 1970
First holder	Paul Dean

History

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.^[1] 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.^[2] 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.^[3] In February 2021, Zahawi announced schools in England would reopen on 8 March.^[4]

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.^[5]

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.

Responsibilities

The minister leads on the following policy areas:^[6]

• COVID-19 vaccine deployment
• health improvement
• prevention
• immunisation and screening
• UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
  • emergency preparedness
  • infectious diseases
  • environmental health
• abortion
• global health security
• lead minister for crisis response
• sponsorship of FSA and UKHSA

List of ministers of public health

Name		Portrait	Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
Role created out of the Department of Health and Social Security replacing the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Security
	Paul Dean MP for North Somerset		24 June 1970	4 March 1974	Conservative		Edward Heath (l)
	Michael Alison MP for Barkston Ash		24 June 1970	4 March 1974	Conservative		Edward Heath (l)
	David Owen MP for Plymouth Devonport		8 March 1974	26 July 1974	Labour		Harold Wilson (lll)
	Robert Brown MP for Newcastle upon Tyne West		8 March 1974	18 October 1974	Labour		Harold Wilson (lll)
	Alec Jones MP for Rhondda		18 October 1974	12 June 1975	Labour		Harold Wilson (lV)
	Michael Meacher MP for Oldham West		12 June 1975	14 April 1976	Labour		Harold Wilson (lV)
	Eric Deakins MP for Walthamstow		14 April 1976	4 May 1979	Labour		James Callaghan (l)
	Reginald Wells-Pestell, Baron Wells-Pestell Life peer		3 January 1979	4 May 1979	Labour		James Callaghan (l)
	George Young MP for Acton		7 May 1979	15 September 1981	Conservative		Margaret Thatcher (l)
	Lynda Chalker MP for Wallasey		7 May 1979	5 March 1982	Conservative		Margaret Thatcher (l)
	Geoffrey Finsberg MP for Hampstead		15 September 1981	14 June 1983	Conservative		Margaret Thatcher (l)
	Rodney Elton, 2nd Baron Elton Hereditary Peer		15 September 1981	6 April 1982	Conservative		Margaret Thatcher (l)
	Tony Newton MP for Braintree		5 March 1982	11 September 1984	Conservative		Margaret Thatcher (l) + (ll)
	David Trefgarne, 2nd Baron Trefgarne Hereditary Peer		6 April 1982	14 June 1983	Conservative		Margaret Thatcher (l)
	John Patten MP for Oxford West and Abingdon		14 June 1983	2 September 1985	Conservative		Margaret Thatcher (ll)
	Simon Arthur, 4th Baron Glenarthur Hereditary Peer		14 June 1983	26 March 1985	Conservative		Margaret Thatcher (ll)
	Ray Whitney MP for Wycombe		11 September 1984	10 September 1986	Conservative		Margaret Thatcher (ll)
	Jean Barker, Baroness Trumpington Life Peer		30 March 1985	13 June 1987	Conservative		Margaret Thatcher (ll)
	John Major MP for Huntingdon		2 September 1985	10 September 1986	Conservative		Margaret Thatcher (ll)
	Nicholas Lyell MP for Mid Bedfordshire		10 September 1986	13 June 1987	Conservative		Margaret Thatcher (ll)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health
	Edwina Currie MP for South Derbyshire		10 September 1986	16 December 1988	Conservative		Margaret Thatcher (ll) + (lll)
	Roger Freeman MP for Kettering		16 December 1988	4 May 1990	Conservative		Margaret Thatcher (lll)
	Gloria Hooper, Baroness Hooper Life peer		28 July 1989	14 April 1992	Conservative		Margaret Thatcher (lll) John Major (l)
	Stephen Dorrell MP for Loughborough		4 May 1990	November 1990	Conservative		Margaret Thatcher (lll)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Security
	Tom Sackville MP for Bolton West		14 April 1992	29 November 1995	Conservative		John Major (ll)
	Julia Cumberlege, Baroness Cumberlege Life peer		14 April 1992	2 May 1997	Conservative		John Major (ll)
	Tim Yeo MP for South Suffolk		15 April 1992	27 May 1993	Conservative		John Major (ll)
	John Bowis MP for Battersea		27 May 1993	23 July 1996	Conservative		John Major (ll)
	John Horam MP for Orpington		29 November 1995	2 May 1997	Conservative		John Major (ll)
	Simon Burns MP for Chelmsford		23 July 1996	2 May 1997	Conservative		John Major (ll)
Minister of State for Public Health
	Tessa Jowell MP for Dulwich and West Norwood		2 May 1997	11 October 1999	Labour		Tony Blair (l)
	Yvette Cooper MP for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford		11 October 1999	28 May 2002	Labour		Tony Blair (l) + (ll)
	David Lammy MP for Tottenham		29 May 2002	13 June 2003	Labour		Tony Blair (ll)
	Melanie Johnson MP for Welwyn Hatfield		13 June 2003	10 May 2005	Labour		Tony Blair (ll)
	Caroline Flint MP for Don Valley		10 May 2005	28 June 2007	Labour		Tony Blair (lll)
	Dawn Primarolo MP for Bristol South		29 June 2007	5 June 2009	Labour		Gordon Brown (l)
	Gillian Merron MP for Lincoln		10 June 2009	11 May 2010	Labour		Gordon Brown (l)
	Anne Milton MP for Guildford		11 May 2010	4 September 2012	Conservative		David Cameron (Coalition)
	Anna Soubry MP for Broxtowe		4 September 2012	7 October 2013	Conservative		David Cameron (Coalition)
	Jane Ellison MP for Battersea		7 October 2013	15 July 2016	Conservative		David Cameron (Coalition) + (II)
	Nicola Blackwood MP for Oxford West and Abingdon		14 July 2016	9 June 2017	Conservative		Theresa May (I)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Primary Care
	Steve Brine MP for Winchester		14 June 2017	25 March 2019	Conservative		Theresa May (II)
	Seema Kennedy MP for South Ribble		4 April 2019	26 July 2019	Conservative		Theresa May (II)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prevention, Public Health and Primary Care
	Jo Churchill MP for Bury St Edmunds		26 July 2019	15 September 2021	Conservative		Boris Johnson (I) + (II)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Vaccines and Public Health
	Maggie Throup MP for Erewash		15 September 2021	6 September 2022	Conservative		Boris Johnson (II)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Primary Care and Public Health
	Neil O'Brien MP for Harborough		8 September 2022	13 November 2023	Conservative		Liz Truss (I) Rishi Sunak (I)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health, Start for Life and Primary Care
	Dame Andrea Leadsom MP for South Northamptonshire		13 November 2023	5 July 2024	Conservative		Rishi Sunak (I)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention
	Andrew Gwynne MP for Gorton and Denton		9 July 2024	8 February 2025	Labour		Keir Starmer (Starmer ministry)
	Ashley Dalton MP for West Lancashire		10 February 2025	Incumbent	Labour		Keir Starmer (Starmer ministry)

Other ministerial appointments

COVID-19 vaccine deployment

Name		Portrait	Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment
	Nadhim Zahawi MP for Stratford-on-Avon		28 November 2020	15 September 2021	Conservative		Boris Johnson (ll)

Patient safety and primary care

Name		Portrait	Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety and Primary Care
	Maria Caulfield MP for Lewes		17 September 2021	7 July 2022	Conservative		Boris Johnson (ll)
	James Morris MP for Halesowen and Rowley Regis		8 July 2022	8 September 2022	Conservative		Boris Johnson (ll)

See also

• Health minister
• COVID-19 vaccination programme in the United Kingdom
• COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
• List of government ministers of the United Kingdom