Yvette Cooper is Housing Minister and attends Cabinet. Her appointment was announced in June 2007.

Yvette Cooper was Minister of State for Housing and Planning in the Department for Communities and Local Government, previously the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), from 2005. Before this, she was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the ODPM.

From May 2002 to June 2003 she was Parliamentary Secretary at the Lord Chancellor's Department and from October 1999 she was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health.

She has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Pontefract and Castleford since 1 May 1997. Before being appointed as Health Minister, Ms Cooper was a Member of the Education and Employment Select Committee and the Intelligence and Security Committee.

Ms Cooper was previously economic columnist and leader writer for The Independent. She worked as Policy Advisor to Labour's Treasury Team in opposition between 1990-94 and as Policy Advisor to the Bill Clinton Presidential Campaign in 1992.

She was educated at Eggars Comprehensive, Alton Sixth Form College, Oxford University, Harvard University and the London School of Economics.

She is married to Ed Balls MP, and they have three children.