Department of Health and Social Care

Department of Health and Social Care
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39 Victoria Street, Westminster
Department overview
Formed1988
Preceding Department
JurisdictionGovernment of the United Kingdom
Headquarters39 Victoria Street
London
SW1H 0EU[1]
Employees1,588 (2019/20)[2]
Annual budget£138.9 billion; 2020–21 ($185 billion)[3]
Secretary of State responsible
Department executive
Websitegov.uk/dhsc Edit this at Wikidata

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwise devolved to the Scottish Government, Welsh Government or Northern Ireland Executive. It oversees the English National Health Service (NHS). The department is led by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care with three ministers of state and three parliamentary under-secretaries of state.

The department develops policies and guidelines to improve the quality of care and to meet patient expectations. It carries out some of its work through arms-length bodies (ALBs),[4] including executive non-departmental public bodies such as NHS England and the NHS Digital, and executive agencies such as the UK Health Security Agency and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The DHSC also manages the work of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).[5]

The expenditure, administration and policy of the department are scrutinised by the Health and Social Care Select Committee.[6]

  1. ^ "Department of Health and Social Care". gov.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts 2019-20 (For the period ended 31 March 2020)" (PDF). GOV.UK. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  3. ^ Spending Round 2019. London: HM Treasury. 4 September 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  4. ^ "[Withdrawn] Arm's length bodies". GOV.UK. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Our governance". NIHR. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Role - Health and Social Care Committee". parliament.uk. Retrieved 12 March 2022. The Health and Social Care Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the policy, administration and expenditure of the Department of Health and Social Care and its associated bodies.

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