REPORT AUTHOR

Lord Patel, a social worker by background, initially worked in inner city Bradford and then established a number of Third Sector agencies working with those misusing drugs and those with mental health problems; later moving into academia working with a number of universities.

He entered the House of Lords in 2006 as an independent peer and was later appointed Minister in the Government Whip’s Office in the House of Lords. Lord Patel has held a number of high-profile public appointments on national boards and committees, including the Home Office’s Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs, the Care Quality Commission, and was also Chairman of the Mental Health Act Commission and Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

In 2018, Lord Patel of Bradford was appointed by the Secretary of State for Education and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care as the Chair of Social Work England. Social Work England is the new regulator for all child, family and adult social workers in England.

Lord Patel is also the Chair of Breaking Barriers Innovations.