After Dinner Speaker: Katie Smith Sloan, Executive Director of the Global Ageing Network
President and CEO, LeadingAge
Katie Smith Sloan serves as the executive director of the Global Ageing Network, an organization with a presence in over 50 countries committed to improving the quality of life for people as they age through shared learning, exploration and innovation. The Global Ageing Network brings leaders together to explore and identify solutions for the challenges and opportunities associated with global ageing. It is the only Network of primarily providers of services, housing and care.
Katie Smith Sloan also serves as president and CEO of LeadingAge, an association of over 5,000 mission-driven community-based organizations in the U.S. that provide services and supports primarily for older adults. LeadingAge advocates to improve housing, services and supports, guided by the organization’s mission to be the trusted voice for aging.
Sloan serves on the Board of Directors of the Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation (CABHI) based in Toronto, HelpAge USA, the Long Term Quality Alliance (LTQA), ValueFirst, and the Research Institute for Home Care Quality and Innovation. She is national co-chair of Dementia Friendly America, a multi-sector national collaborative with a mission to foster dementia friendly communities
Plenary 3: Inspiring Providers for the future / CQC’s vision for quality. Moving from compliance to outstanding. Partnership improvement
James Bullion CBE, Chief Inspector Adult Social Care, CQC
James Bullion joined CQC as Interim Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care and Integrated Care in June 2023.
James was previously Executive Director of Adult Social Services at Norfolk County Council. He was also a member of the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board.
As president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) in 2020-21, James supported and advocated for people using care during the pandemic. He has also been the ADASS representative supporting the development of our new assessments of local authorities.
James has been working with the Department of Health and Social Care on their plans to ensure people can leave hospital when they are well enough to do so.
Panel: The Future of not-for-profit care and support in 2040.
Prof. Vic Rayner OBE, Chief Executive Officer, The National Care Forum
Professor Vic Rayner OBE is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Care Forum, joining the organisation in 2016.
As CEO she chairs the government national workforce advisory group. In addition, she chairs the National Social Care Advisory Group on social care and technology and has been at the forefront of promoting digital transformation across care. She sits on a range of government and national specialist groups with a focus on the social care workforce, digital transformation, new models of care and regulation. She has recently stepped down from chairing the working group of the APPG on adult social care.
Vic is a regular national and international speaker and has extensive knowledge and expertise across a wide range of care, support, housing and social policy agendas. Prior to joining the NCF, she was the CEO of Sitra, a leading national membership body championing excellence in housing, health, care and support.
Vic is the incoming chair of the Global Ageing Network and has worked extensively with international partners on key areas of innovation and change. In addition, she was awarded an Hon. Professorship in Health Sciences by City University, working closely with the My Home Life programme and the wider University agenda around ageing and care. She was awarded an OBE for services to social care in 2021.
Andy Cole, OBE, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Star & Garter and National Care Forum Chair
Andy is Chief Executive of Royal Star & Garter, one of the country’s leading Armed Forces charities, which provides care to veterans living with disability or dementia. Andy led the development of the charity’s newest Home in High Wycombe and is championing the launch of new services for the veteran community. Royal Star & Garter has won numerous accolades for the quality of its care including a 5 Outstanding CQC rating for its Solihull Home in 2020 and the Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Hero Award for Professional Excellence in 2021.
Andy was previously Chief Executive of the national premature baby charity, Bliss, receiving an OBE in 2014 for his work in supporting maternity and neonatal services; with his earlier career in some of the country’s major arts organisations including the Royal Shakespeare Company and British Film Institute. He is also Vice Chair of the Council of Buckinghamshire New University.
Prof. Jugdeep Dhesi, President Elect, British Geriatrics Society
Jugdeep is a consultant geriatrician working in the innovative and award-winning POPS (Perioperative medicine for Older People undergoing Surgery) service at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
She is Honorary Professor at King’s College London and Associate Professor at University College London, with research interests including preoperative assessment and optimisation, health services research focusing on perioperative pathways and postoperative delirium.
She has wide education and training portfolio, having established the first Allied Health Professional, Foundation and Specialist Registrar training programmes in perioperative medicine, co-authored e-learning modules, MSc modules and multiple textbook chapters.
Her national roles include Deputy Director for Centre for Perioperative Care, President Elect for British Geriatrics Society and involvement in a variety of steering, advisory and guideline groups (NELA, RCoA, BGS and NICE).
Isaac Samuels, TLap
Isaac is an established community campaigner and co-production advisor. He has worked for 25 years within the health, social care and housing sectors supporting those at risk of disadvantage due to social, political and environmental barriers such as poverty, health and or disability, to live their best lives. He does this by supporting people to share their lived experience to shape policy and their desired life outcomes irrespective of the systematic barriers they may face.
Isaac has lived experience of his own inequalities associated with his own health and social care support needs. He is passionate about supporting others to overcome these particular barriers. His lived experience of the effects of life-changing health conditions has shaped his knowledge and approach.
Previously, Isaac has held a wide variety of roles which have including being a professional leader and facilitator of integrated policy for people living with additional support needs (disabilities), research and practice within the multiple contexts of nursing, mental health, HIV/AIDS stigma, co-production, mental health research, choice and control and the Care Act.
Co-production is at the heart of all of Isaac’s work which is based on a rights-based approach for all people to determine their outcome and be the authors of their own narratives. Isaac’s values are compassion, equity, fairness and breaking down stigma through living by example.
Saskia is an Executive Director for NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations), the umbrella body for the voluntary sector.
She leads on communications, digital, customer insights and policy/public affairs, and is currently focused on building strategic relationships with the new government.
She started her career as a journalist working in the UK, Ghana, and as a reporter in New Zealand, and has since held a number of external affairs leadership roles across the public and charity sectors. Prior to NCVO, she headed up communications for Bristol City Council, working closely with the local community and media to develop communication strategies for Brexit, Covid-19 and multiple crisis responses. She was also the engagement lead for the city’s response to the Black Lives Matter protest which saw the statue of Edward Colston removed.
Jackie is Mencap’s Executive Director of Strategy and Influence.
She has been a member of Mencap’s Executive Team for six years in a variety of roles. She is also one of the three chairs of the Care and Support Alliance. She grew up all over the North of England before the bright lights of London lured her away. Since then, she has worked in several Government Departments, done a stint at the European Commission in Brussels and worked in the food industry.
Jackie’s last role before joining Mencap was as Director of National Lottery Good Causes.
She lives in Hackney with three West Ham supporters.
Workshop A – 1: Strategic commissioning and partnership working : is there a role for NCF members?
Hazel Summers, Director of Adult Social Care Improvement for Partners in Care and Health – a partnership between ADASS and the LGA
Hazel Summers is the Director of Adult Social Care Improvement for Partners in Care and Health, which is a partnership between ADASS and the Local Government Association (LGA). Hazel has had a long career in Adult Social Care and was the DASS at Manchester City Council, working on integration both in neighbourhoods and within the wider Greater Manchester System. Hazel is an adopted Mancunian and really pleased to have the opportunity to chair this session today.
John Wearing, Consultant, J W Consultants
My role involves providing company law and commercial advice including strategic planning advice at boardroom level to a wide range of health and social care organisations. My team also advises on joint ventures between public, private and voluntary-sector providers. I work with family business and professional partnerships to ensure efficient and appropriate structures, incorporations and disputes.
My experience includes strategic advice on governance, risk management, contracting, portfolio management and large-scale transfers of community care facilities. I have significant experience with advising on a variety of corporate structures and contractual arrangements between general practitioners and primary care trusts.
Workshop A – 2: Improving commercial viability in social care
Christoph Marr, Managing Director & Board Member, Marr Procurement
Christoph started his procurement career with Marks & Spencer after they sponsored him at University and went onto spend six years as Buyer then Buying Manager at the M&S Head Office in London. In 2001 IBM recruited Christoph as Senior Consultant and he was seconded as Head of Procurement for IBM Europe Middle East and Africa to help build the IBM UK Procurement Consulting practice involving procurement projects across the private and public sector in the UK, Europe and the US.
In March 2008 Care UK Plc recruited Christoph to create a procurement function and two years later was invited to join a ten strong team involved in a ￡300m venture capitalist backed management buyout.
In 2013 he was appointed as a judge for the annual Management Consulting Association awards and in 2014 Christoph founded the UK Procurement Leader Care Network, a group consisting of 51 Health & Social Care Procurement Directors with aggregated spend of ￡1bn.
Christoph has a 1st Class BA Honours degree from the Aberdeen Business School where he specialised in supply chain quality and his career ambition has been to create a procurement business which operates with real integrity, which always puts clients first and which only employs extraordinary people who have a passion for procurement – this is what differentiates marrprocurement.
Workshop B – 1: The habits of highly successful Non-Executive Directors and Trustees
Juliet Brown, Partner, Starfish Search
Juliet has worked within leadership and career development for over twenty years, the last eight of which as an executive search consultant within two national search firms specialising in finding leaders for social purpose organisations. She brings a particular focus on board and executive level appointments across the not for profit and social enterprise sector, developing a particular interest in social care, mental health, and social justice organisations. Juliet’s wide range of clients include a number of NCF member organisations, where she has placed chief executives, exec directors and board members. She began her career as a fundraiser with two national disability charities before joining the University of Leeds, where she led fundraising campaigns, developed and managed Chair and Chief Executive networks, and client-managed a suite of leadership and organisational development programmes across the NHS. Juliet is an executive coach as well as a trustee and vice-chair of a health inequalities charity.
Dr Mark Ward, CEO of Borough Care Group
Dr Mark Ward has been a voluntary sector leader, Chief Executive and Non-Executive Board member for over 20 years. He has worked across social care, youth work, disability, environmental regeneration and education. In every organisation, Mark has delivered growth in services, quality and finances. At the heart of every company he has led, is his ethos of enabling people to live their best possible life, regardless of the challenges they might face. In addition to leading Borough Care Group, Mark is a Trustee and Finance & Audit Committee member of Skills for Care, the national social care sector workforce charity.
Workshop B – 2: A greener perspective: risks , duties and goals for trustees
Matthew Wort, Senior Partner, Anthony Collins
Matt is the senior partner at Anthony Collins and a member of the employment and pensions team. He also lead the firms’ work in the health and social care sector. Matt thrives off challenging situations, being able to provide resolutions and identify commercial solutions.
He helps clients unblock difficult employment issues be that with key employees or trade unions and enjoys supporting his clients with redundancy or contract change programmes to manage risk whilst maintaining employee relations. His TUPE and national minimum wage (NMW) experience is highly regarded by clients, and he regularly supports them through HMRC inspections. He also advises on complex discrimination and whistleblowing cases and am regularly involved in investigations, and the local government pension scheme (LGPS), particularly in the context of employers obtaining Admitted Body Status.
Natalie Barbosa, Senior Associate, Anthony Collins
Natalie is a senior associate working within the firm’s Charity and Health and Social Care sectors. Prior to joining Anthony Collins Solicitors, she was the sole Legal Counsel at Barnardo’s, the UK’s leading children’s charity and a major provider of children and young adult services to local authorities and central government.
Natalie advises charities, third sector and public organisations on the full range of commercial legal matters facing a modern organisation, which includes advising on matters such as: commercial contracts, data protection; intellectual property; safeguarding; regulatory compliance; strategic partnerships, social investment funds and due diligence. She is experienced in acting on behalf of clients in drafting and negotiating upon a wide range of commercial contracts including consortia agreement; heads of terms; confidentiality agreements; purchase of goods and/or services; IT agreements; consultancy agreements; fundraising contracts; social investment funds and grants.
Natalie has a record of introducing new procedures and policies to mitigate the legal, governance and compliance risks faced by organisations and enjoys providing practical legal training to clients and their staff. She is a regular commentator and speaker on charity, fundraising and climate/biodiversity matters and has strategic and directorship experience as a prior trustee and Vice-Chair of a UK charity.
Workshop C – 1: Myth-busting digital care records for working age adults services
Katie Thorn, Project Manager, Digital Care Hub
Katie Thorn is a pivotal figure in digital transformation within the adult social care sector. She serves as the Project Manager for the Digital Care Hub, formerly known as Digital Social Care. For social care providers, by social care providers, the Digital Care Hub provides free guidance and support to care organisations on technology, data protection and cyber security. This initiative is supported by the Care Provider Alliance, NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care.
Katie has played a significant role in advocating for and implementing digital solutions in social care. She has been involved in co-hosting the first series of roundtables on the responsible use Generative AI in social care with the Institute of Ethics in AI at Oxford University and the subsequent publication of the Oxford Statement. Her work focuses on ensuring that digital innovations in social care are used ethically and effectively.
Her background includes extensive work with the Registered Nursing Home Association (RNHA) as a Digital Engagement Manager, where she has contributed to improving technology use in nursing homes. She has also worked in nursing homes as both a carer and in operations.
Katie has been recognised for her work supporting care providers by receiving The Woman in Tech award at the Women Achieving Greatness in Social Care (WAGS) awards (2022) and the NHS England Award in the Public Service Category of the National Cyber Awards (2023).
Prof Kate Hamblin, Professor of Social Policy and Director, Centre for Care, Sheffield University
Kate Hamblin is Professor of Social Policy and Director of the Centre for Care. She joined the University of Sheffield in 2018 to work on the Sustainable Care programme. She also currently leads the Centre for Care’s Digital Care research theme and is the UK Networks and geographical lead for the North and East-Midlands in the IMProving Adult Care Together (IMPACT) evidence implementation Centre. Her research has focused on technology and its role in support for older and disabled people and carers, as well exploring issues related to implications for job and care quality in the adult social care sector. Kate has also examined issues related to employment, including the balance between unpaid care and paid work; self-employment and ageing; and ‘active ageing’ employment and pension policies. She has also been involved in research that has explored the impact of artistic activities and engagement on health and wellbeing.
Workshop C – 2: The Our Lives Barometer
Clive Parry, England Director, Association for Real Change
For a significant part of his adult social care career, Clive was involved in the delivery of employment support programmes for disabled people.
He also has experience of delivering statutory and non-statutory advocacy services as well as a range of learning disability services which include registered residential homes, supported living, respite and day services.
Clive is now the England Director for the Association for Real Change which is a membership body which supports 100 providers of care and support for people with a learning disability autism or both.
Rod Landman, Regional Project Lead, Association for Real Change
Rod has spent his entire life working in learning disability and autism services.
Over the last 10 years he has run peer-led projects for ARC on mate crime, sexual exploitation, internet harms and domestic abuse.
Rod also leads on ARC’s inclusion work, supporting IMPACT Networks, the Together 4 Change group (which networks supported people) and peer-led research on the social lives of supported people (‘Our Social Lives’) which is the focus of this seminar.
Rod now lives in north Devon, but stubbornly continues to support West Ham United.
Workshop D – 1: Leading the way in quality improvement in the not-for-profit sector
Sara Beamand, Consultant, NCF Consult
Sara has over 35 years’ experience within the care and supported housing environment.
Sara is a director of a consultancy company working with organisations who deliver care and support services in the public, private and voluntary sector, having previously been the executive director of care and support for a large midlands housing association delivering care and support services to a wide range of customer groups. Sara has extensive experience of working within the regulatory framework of CQC as a nominated individual and managing large numbers of registered services.
Since 2018 Sara held a number of Interim CEO roles within learning disability charities providing registered care homes and domiciliary care services in the community.
Sara works with many organisations supporting quality improvement, regulatory support and professional witness work.
Sara is a non-executive director of an older persons Housing Association and sits on the care and support committee of a national housing association also having served as a statutory appointee to a housing board on behalf of the housing regulator.
Sara has a real passion for the delivery of high-quality person-centred care and support services which deliver excellent outcomes to all individuals receiving services.
Peter Keelan, Director, PK Care Consulting /
NCF Consultant
I am a qualified Social Worker with nearly 25 years of experience in operational and strategic management. I have a broad range of experience in the specialist housing, care and support market.
I am now a social care consultant supporting social care providers with quality assurance, governance and safeguarding. I help providers find pragmatic solutions with tools that maximise the opportunities for learning and improvement. I am committed to person-centred care, ensuring that the lived experience of customers and the worked experience of staff are front and centre of any quality assurance system.
I am particularly passionate about supporting smaller and medium-sized providers who may not have the internal resources to develop tools and systems to maximise governance. Alongside mock inspections, I support providers in rethinking and refreshing their approach to quality improvement. I also support providers in reviewing their policies and procedures and ensuring they are clear and written for the audience that uses them.
I was previously the Director of Quality for Leonard Cheshire for seven years. I oversaw regulatory compliance and service improvement across all registered social care services. I was also the Nominated Individual for CQC and Caldicott Guardian. At the time of leaving, there were 106 registered services in the portfolio spread across the UK, with 62 services in England. I was responsible for safeguarding in both social care and community services.
Before this, I spent seven years with One Housing Group as Head of Service Development and six years with Mind in various management roles.
Workshop E – 1: Fair pay agreements, understanding what this means for the new government
Matthew Wort, Senior Partner, Anthony Collins
Matt is the senior partner at Anthony Collins and a member of the employment and pensions team. He also lead the firms’ work in the health and social care sector. Matt thrives off challenging situations, being able to provide resolutions and identify commercial solutions.
He helps clients unblock difficult employment issues be that with key employees or trade unions and enjoys supporting his clients with redundancy or contract change programmes to manage risk whilst maintaining employee relations. His TUPE and national minimum wage (NMW) experience is highly regarded by clients, and he regularly supports them through HMRC inspections. He also advises on complex discrimination and whistleblowing cases and am regularly involved in investigations, and the local government pension scheme (LGPS), particularly in the context of employers obtaining Admitted Body Status.
Gavin Edwards, Social Care Lead, UNISON
Gavin Edwards has been with UNISON for 17 years, having previously worked in Parliament and local government. In December 2019, he took on his current role as Senior National Officer for Social Care. UNISON is the largest union in the social care sector. He is lead negotiator on behalf of UNISON social care members for national employers and runs UNISON’s ‘Let’s Make Care Work’ campaign for a National Care Service in England.
Nina, Hemmings, Researcher, Nuffield Trust
Nina is a researcher at the Nuffield Trust, leading much of the Trust’s research into the social care workforce. In 2022, she published a report looking at international approaches to professionalisation of the social care workforce. In July 2024, she co-published a report exploring national policy options for improving care worker pay in England. This analysis, undertaken jointly with the Health Foundation, examined the feasibility and desirability of options such as introducing a sector minimum wage and a pay scale. The research drew on evidence emerging from other countries as well as across the UK.
She has worked on a range of wider health and care projects, including for example, comparative research on Japan and Germany’s long term care systems, the impact of remote and digital general practice, and research on the scale and spread of innovations within the NHS. She has presented evidence to the Health and Social Care Select Committee on approaches to attracting and retaining a diverse NHS workforce.
Prior to joining the Trust Nina worked as a Policy Officer leading on NHS finances at NHS Providers, and as Coordinator for the Obesity Health Alliance (a coalition group comprising over 30 royal medical colleges and national charities).
Nina holds an MSc in Comparative Social Policy from the University of Oxford, and a BA in Archaeology and Anthropology.
Workshop F – 1: Using generative AI in Adult Social Care ‘Responsibly’
Caroline Emmer De Albuquerque Green, Head of Engagement at the Institute for
Ethics in AI, University of Oxford
Dr Caroline Green is an Early Career Research Fellow at the Institute and Research Fellow at Reuben College. Caroline’s work focuses on AI and human rights, specifically in the fields of health and social care. Caroline holds a LLB (Hons) from the University of Edinburgh, an MSc in Human Rights from the LSE, a MA in Investigative Journalism from City University and a PhD in Gerontology from King’s College London. Prior to joining the Institute she worked as a ARC South London post-doctoral Research Fellow at King’s College London.