Turton held ministerial office as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Insurance from 1951 to 1953, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance from 1953 to 1954, and as Joint Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from October 1954 to December 1955. From December 1955 to January 1957 Turton served in Sir Anthony Eden's Ministry as Minister of Health, a post then outside of the Cabinet but of Cabinet rank, and was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1955.