Minister for Mental Health and Early Years

The Minister for Mental Health and Early Years (Y Gweinidog Iechyd Meddwl a’r Blynyddoedd Cynnar) is a minister of the Welsh Government, accountable to the cabinet secretary for health and social care. Established as a cabinet position in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales, it was moved to a junior position in 2021. The current officeholder is Sarah Murphy since July 2024.

Responsibilities
When the post was created as a cabinet post in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales, its responsibilities were stated to include at the time to be; mental health services, patient experience, substance misuse, dementia, veterans' health, and the obesity strategy of Wales.

Since becoming a junior post in 2021, the responsibilities of the post are:


 * Some public health responsibilities, specifically;
 * The response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales, screening and vaccination.
 * Services for Health improvement and wellbeing
 * Delivery and performance of NHS Wales
 * Escalation procedures
 * Responsibility in managing reports from Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, such as keeping a receipt of, responding to, and managing the direction of their reports.
 * Overseeing the Welsh Government's relationship with Audit Wales in matters relating to the NHS.
 * The training and development of the medical workforce, excluding the higher education years 1-5 of Doctors
 * Health and social care research and development
 * Digital health and health innovation
 * Mental health services
 * Suicide prevention
 * Dementia
 * Autism
 * Gambling problem-related health impacts
 * Substance misuse
 * Health of the armed forces and veterans
 * Strategy for Obesity
 * Food Standards Agency in Wales, including food safety
 * Genetically modified food (but not genetically modified crops)
 * Experience of patients, their involvement, and the citizens' voices
 * Safeguarding
 * Services for Adoption and Foster care
 * Advocacy services for children and young people's, such as managing complains, representations, as well as advocacy, under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014
 * Sharing information under the Children Act 2004
 * Cafcass Cymru
 * Overseeing and deciding policy regarding social service provision of activities by the local authorities in Wales, including issuing statutory guidance
 * Overseeing Social Care Wales
 * Regulating domiciliary, residential, adult placements, foster care, under 8's care provision and private healthcare
 * Inspecting and reporting the provision of social services by the local authorities in Wales, through the Care Inspectorate Wales, including jointly reviewing social services and responding to any reports
 * The rights and entitlements of children and young people, including utilising the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
 * Early years, childcare and play, including the "childcare offer" and its workforce
 * Early childhood education and care
 * Flying Start for children aged 0–3 years
 * Policies for Families First and play

The post-holder launched the "National Framework for Social Prescribing" in December 2023, aiming for the consistent delivery of social prescribing. The post-holder also announced in 2023, funding arrangements for Trading Standards Wales, concerning illegal electronic cigarettes, and online therapy services overseen by Powys Teaching Health Board in 2022.