Jo Williams is the former Chief Executive, Royal Mencap Society. She is also the former president of the Association of Directors of Social Services and champion for social care services throughout a career in local government. She is also Co-chair of the Learning Disability Coalition and a member of bodies advising government on the third sector, carers, learning disabilities and children's services.
I have worked for the Department for Work and Pensions in its various guises for almost 25 years, starting in a local benefits office in Nottingham in the mid 1980s. Over the years I have worked in most parts of the Department in a variety of operational, support service, policy and project delivery posts.
Since 2003 I have worked solely on the “pensions” side of the organisation, and have seen at first-hand the impact that DWP products and services have on our pensioner (and future pensioner) population. I was particularly thrilled therefore to be appointed Programme Manager for a programme of work to deliver changes to the UK State Pension system (including changes to State Pension age), implementing reforms arising from legislation laid in 1995, 2007 and 2008. The bulk of these changes will be introduced in April 2010, so I am starting to think about “what next”!
Sally Warren is currently Deputy Director and Head of the Social Care Strategy Unit at the Department of Health, responsible for the Care and Support White Paper. Prior to this, Sally has had over 10 years experience at the Department of Health, including as Private Secretary to the Secretary of State, and Deputy Director of Financial Planning, responsible for negotiating the Spending Review for heath and social care in 2007 and for establishing governance mechanisms for the new cross Government Public Service Agreements. Most recently, Sally was Joint Programme Director for Hammersmith and Fulham Council and Primary Care Trust, leading the development and implementation of a business case to integrate management teams under a single Chief Executive.
Prior to being Acting Director General for Commissioning and System Management at the Department of Health, Gary was the Director of Commissioning. He has over 25 years experience in the NHS and DH. His previous roles included Head of Primary Care in the DH, Chief Executive of an NHS Trust and Deputy Chief Executive of a Community and Mental Health Trust.
In his six years at the DH Gary has led the teams who have created the models and policy for Practice Based Commissioning and long term conditions.
As Director of Commissioning, Gary was the architect of World Class Commissioning. This is seen as a leading edge development and the significant ‘co-production’ with the NHS to create WCC has set the standard for future policy development between DH and the NHS.
Denise Vittorino is Head of Health Development in Community Services, Social Care and Health, Staffordshire County Council, since January 2006. Denise leads on a number of health and wellbeing programmes on behalf of the County Council and with partners, including “The role of Adult Social Care in Place-Shaping for Wellbeing”, developing the role of the Third Sector in Health and Wellbeing for Older People, the development of a Care Home Award to improve Health, Wellbeing and quality standards in Care Homes. She leads a multi-disciplinary Health Development team and work programme which includes Food and Health programmes, Community Development, and Workplace Health. With an MSC in Health Promotion from Kings College, University of London and a BSC (Hons) in Health Studies from the University of Southampton, Denise previously worked in the NHS in East London on public health programmes in performance management, substance misuse, domestic violence, sexual health and on the development of health and urban regeneration programmes. Her current interests lie in the social ad community context of ageing and the experience of health inequalities of older people.
Felicity Hindson was elected to Hampshire County Council for the Meon Valley Division in 1993. Her particular interests are the care of young and old and she has served as Executive Member for Social Care, Lead Member for Children's Services and now Executive Member for Adult Social Care. She helped pioneer the development of Kinship Care which supports members of the extended family to offer the love and care that children need when parents are unable to do so. She is a firm support of the Personalisation agenda which is giving users of Adult Services greater control and choice over the services they need to live independent lives. A lover of the countryside she has been one of the County Council's representatives on the South Downs Joint Committee.
Oliver James trained and practised as a clinical child psychologist and, since 1988, has worked as a writer, journalist, broadcaster and television documentary producer and presenter. His bestselling books include Affluenza, a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller, the groundbreaking Britain on The Couch, released this January with a new introduction, They F*** You Up and of course, Contented Dementia, his bestselling guide to the SPECAL method of Alzheimers care. He lives in Oxfordshire with his wife and two small children.
Oliver qualified as a social worker in 1979 after four years working in the voluntary sector and residential child care. He worked for seven years in the London Boroughs of Camden and Lewisham as generic Social Worker and Team Leader.
He came to Kent in 1987 and held a number of operational and policy roles including co-ordinating the implementation of the Community Care changes in 1993. He became Director of Operations for the Social Services Directorate in 1998 with overall responsibility for operations including assessing needs, service purchasing and collaborative working with Health and other partners, he was appointed Strategic Director of Social Services in August 2005.
He is currently Managing Director of Adult Social Services, responsible for a full range of social services for adults. This includes taking the lead on transforming social care services in Kent and commissioning services with lead partners. He is also chair of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services South East regional network and on the National Executive Committee.
Stephen was elected the Conservative MP for Eddisbury at the by-election on 22nd July 1999. He is currently a Shadow Minister for Health. From May to December 2005, he served as the Shadow Minister for Skills. From November 2003 to 2005, was Shadow Secretary of State for Industry. Previously, he held the post of Shadow Minister for the Treasury.
Before that, he was appointed an Opposition Whip in September 2001. From September 2000 to September 2001, he was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chairman of the Conservative Party, the Rt Hon Michael Ancram QC MP. From February to September 2000, he was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Rt Hon Francis Maude MP. Stephen has also served as a member of the House of Commons Select Committee on Education and Employment and on the Education sub-Committee.
Angela previously served as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury from July 2007. Prior to this she has been Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Office (2001-02); the Department of Social Security (1998-01); the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Minister for Green Issues and Regeneration) (1997-98); and was an Opposition Whip (1996-97).
She has been on a number of Commons Select Committees, including the Members Interests Employment Select Committee, the Public Accounts Committee (twice); and Treasury Select Committee, and the Treasury Sub-Committee 2002-2007. Angela has been Vice-chair of the All-Party Equalities Group and in 2005 was elected Vice Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party. She is also a member of Labour's Ruling National Executive Committee (NEC).
She was elected as the first ever Labour MP for Wallasey in 1992, after holding a number of posts within the Labour Party. Angela was educated at Formby High School, and then gained a BA (Hons) in Politics, Philosophy and Economics and St John's College Oxford. She worked for CoHSE (now UNISON) as a Researcher, Press Officer, and then Parliamentary Liaison Officer, before being elected to Parliament.
Angela's political interests include Economic Policy, the NHS, and the politics of sport.
Daron Walker was appointed as the Director of the Fuel Poverty Review in March 2009. The review is examining whether existing fuel poverty policies could be made more effective and whether new policies should be introduced to help the Government make further progress towards its fuel poverty goals. The review reported its initial findings as part of the Low Carbon Transition Plan published in July 2009. A key part of the initial findings was the announcement that the Government would bring forward legislation at the earliest opportunity to place social price support for the most vulnerable householders on a statutory footing, after the voluntary agreement with energy suppliers ends in March 2011. Delivering this new policy is now a key focus for the review team.
Daron has more than four years experience of working on energy and climate change policy. In 2005, he joined the Energy Review Team as the project director. The review - requested by the Prime Minister - culminated in the publication of the Energy Review Report in July 2006. Daron continued in the role of project director to take the report’s recommendations and proposals forward for publication in the 2007 Energy White Paper. Most recently, Daron was Director of the 2007-08 Energy Bill which achieved Royal Assent late in 2008.
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