Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Arms of Her Majesty's Government Department for Work and Pensions
Incumbent Iain Duncan Smith since 12 May 2010
Style	The Right Honourable
Appointer	David Cameron as Prime Minister
Inaugural holder	George Barnes
Formation	10 December 1916
Website	Work and Pensions

United Kingdom

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The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is a post in the British Cabinet, responsible for the Department for Work and Pensions. It was created on 8 June 2001 by the merger of the Employment part 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 (initially titled the Ministry of Social Insurance, it changed its name on 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.

Ministers and Secretaries of State

Minister of Pensions

• George Barnes (10 December 1916 – 17 August 1917)
• John Hodge (17 August 1917 – 10 January 1919)
• Sir Laming Worthington-Evans, Bt (10 January 1919 – 2 April 1920)
• Ian Macpherson (2 April 1920 – 19 October 1922)
• George Tryon (31 October 1922 – 22 January 1924)
• Frederick Roberts (23 January 1924 – 3 November 1924)
• George Tryon (11 November 1924 – 4 June 1929)
• Frederick Roberts (7 June 1929 – 24 August 1931)
• George Tryon (3 September 1931 – 18 June 1935)
• Robert Hudson (18 June 1935 – 30 July 1936)
• Herwald Ramsbotham (30 July 1936 – 7 June 1939)
• Sir Walter Womersley (7 June 1939 – 26 July 1945)
• Wilfred Paling (3 August 1945 – 17 April 1947)
• John Burns Hynd (17 April 1947 – 7 October 1947)
• George Buchanan (7 October 1947 – 2 July 1948)
• Hilary Marquand (2 July 1948 – 17 January 1951)
• George Isaacs (17 January 1951 – 26 October 1951)
• Derick Heathcoat-Amory (5 November 1951 – 3 September 1953)

Minister of Social Insurance/National Insurance (1944–1953)
Name		Portrait	Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
	Sir William Jowitt		8 October 1944	23 May 1945	Labour	Winston Churchill
	Leslie Hore-Belisha		25 May 1945	26 July 1945	National Independent
	Jim Griffiths		4 August 1945	28 February 1950	Labour	Clement Attlee
	Edith Summerskill		28 February 1950	26 October 1951	Labour
	Osbert Peake		31 October 1951	3 September 1953	Conservative	Sir Winston Churchill
Ministers of Pensions and National Insurance (1953–1966)
Name			Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
	Osbert Peake		3 September 1953	20 December 1955	Conservative	Sir Winston Churchill
						Sir Anthony Eden
	John Boyd-Carpenter		20 December 1955	16 July 1962	Conservative
						Harold Macmillan
	Niall Macpherson		16 July 1962	21 October 1963	Conservative
	Richard Wood		21 October 1963	16 October 1964	Conservative	Sir Alec Douglas-Home
	Margaret Herbison		18 October 1964	6 August 1966	Labour	Harold Wilson
Ministers of Social Security (1966–1968)
Name			Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
	Margaret Herbison		6 August 1966	26 July 1967	Labour	Harold Wilson
	Judith Hart		26 July 1967	1 November 1968	Labour
Secretaries of State for Health and Social Services (1968–1988)
Name			Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
	Richard Crossman		1 November 1968	19 June 1970	Labour	Harold Wilson
	Sir Keith Joseph		20 June 1970	4 March 1974	Conservative	Edward Heath
	Barbara Castle		5 March 1974	8 April 1976	Labour	Harold Wilson
	David Ennals		8 April 1976	4 May 1979	Labour	James Callaghan
	Patrick Jenkin		5 May 1979	14 September 1981	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
	Norman Fowler		14 September 1981	13 June 1987	Conservative
	John Moore		13 June 1987	25 July 1988	Conservative
Post split into the Secretary of State for Social Security and the Secretary of State for Health in 1988.
Secretaries of State for Social Security (1988–2001)
Name		Portrait	Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
	John Moore		25 July 1988	23 July 1989	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
	Tony Newton		23 July 1989	10 April 1992	Conservative
						John Major
	Peter Lilley		10 April 1992	2 May 1997	Conservative
	Harriet Harman		3 May 1997	27 July 1998	Labour	Tony Blair
	Alistair Darling		27 July 1998	8 June 2001	Labour
Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions (2001– )
Name		Portrait	Took office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
	Alistair Darling		8 June 2001	29 May 2002	Labour	Tony Blair
	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	Labour
	John Hutton		2 November 2005	27 June 2007	Labour
	Peter Hain		28 June 2007	24 January 2008	Labour	Gordon Brown
	James Purnell		24 January 2008	4 June 2009	Labour
	Yvette Cooper		5 June 2009	11 May 2010	Labour
	Iain Duncan Smith		12 May 2010	Incumbent	Conservative	David Cameron

See also

• Secretary of State for Employment