Part of Health and Social Care – in the House of Commons at on 6 May 2025.
Karin Smyth
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To be clear for the Shadow Secretary of State, the Secretary of State is continuing to look at all those recommendations and consider how best to respond.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The shadow cabinet is the name given to the group of senior members from the chief opposition party who would form the cabinet if they were to come to power after a General Election. Each member of the shadow cabinet is allocated responsibility for `shadowing' the work of one of the members of the real cabinet.
The Party Leader assigns specific portfolios according to the ability, seniority and popularity of the shadow cabinet's members.
