Chairing this Research Group is Paula Sherriff. She was the MP for Dewsbury between 2015 and 2019. She also served as a Member of the Health Select Committee, Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities and Shadow Minister for Mental Health and Social Care. Paula is a renowned women’s health campaigner and made history as the first opposition member to amend a Government budget, by bringing about the abolition of the ‘tampon tax.’ Outside of politics, Paula has always worked in the public sector including a decade in the criminal justice system.

Chief Economist at CIPFA, Jeffrey Matsu is an expert in public finance and particularly interested in its relationship with regional inequalities. With extensive experience in connecting policy with practice through evidence-based research, he works with partner governments, accountancy bodies and the public sector around the world to advance public finance and support better public services.

Chief Executive of LocatED, an arms-length body of the Department for Education, Lara Newman has extensive experience across the education sector. LocatED is responsible for buying and developing sites for new schools in England, also advising multi-academy trusts and local authorities on the use of school estates.

Research Director for the Howard League for Penal Reform, Anita Dockley is an expert in the UK criminal justice system, with particular research interests of suicide and self-harm in prisons, women in prison, and order and control in the prison environment. Anita is the managing editor of the Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, an honorary visiting fellow at the University of Leicester and a member of the Perrie Lectures Committee.

A cross-bench peer in the House of Lords, Lord Dennis Stevenson is a long-time campaigner for greater understanding of mental illness, founding MQ: Transforming Mental Health, the UK’s leading mental health research charity. He has a keen interest in education, having Chaired Pearson and a commission to advise the Prime Minister on the application of ICT in education.

George Coxon is the Director and Owner of Classic Care Homes in Devon. With 13 years experience in the residential care sector before that, and 30 years in the NHS, across commissioning, policy and management, he has a breadth of experience across health and social care, with a keen interest in effective integration.

Chief Executive of the Ambition Institute, Hilary Spencer has held a range of senior positions in the Civil Service, including as Director of Strategy and Performance at the Department for Education, and as Director General of the Government Equalities Office. She is an experienced senior leader in the fields of education policy, equalities, learning and leadership development.

Chief Executive of the NHS Transformation Unit hosted by the Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit (MLCSU), Janet Budd delivers change for the NHS, by the NHS. Also sitting on the MLCSU Board as Director of Strategy, she has a wide range of experience in senior leadership in the NHS.

Sir Robert Buckland is the former Secretary of State for Justice and had previously served as a member of the Justice Select Committee. Author of the The Buckland Review of Autism Employment, Robert is a longstanding advocate for improving support for those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)