The Health and Social Care Committee’s Expert Panel
Meet the core members of the Panel and learn about their role in holding the Government to account.
The Government and Ministers set out their commitments in various ways but what happens to these after they are made and who makes sure they are kept?
This is a key part of the scrutiny work carried out by parliamentary select committees – most commonly through holding inquiries into important policy areas.
Our predecessor Committee formed the Expert Panel to support this vital scrutiny work.
This Panel is made up of:
- Core members — healthcare policy experts or professionals with knowledge of the key issues affecting patients.
- Additional members with specific expertise on the topic the Panel is evaluating.
The Chair of the Panel is Professor Dame Jane Dacre.
How does the Panel work?
Step 1: Asking the Government on its commitments
We will write to the Government and its associated bodies to set out what its key commitments are in the specific area we have commissioned the Panel to look at. We will, in discussion with the Panel, decide on which commitments to evaluate.
Step 2: An independent evaluation of Government's progress
We will then commission the Panel to conduct a detailed evaluation, independent of us, on the progress made against those commitments.
What tools will the Panel use?
The Panel’s evaluation process will draw on the combined expertise of the members of the Panel, as well as using methods such as:
- Interviewing key healthcare stakeholders
- Financial analysis to explore if commitments have been effectively funded
- Analysing public data
- Putting out a call for written evidence and using key word analysis
Step 3: The Committee's action
The Panel will then submit their independent evaluation to us and we will consider the findings as part of our own work into the chosen policy area. The process will provide us with a comprehensive and independent analysis of Government progress into the chosen policy area which will strengthen our evidence base and support us to hold the Government to account for its actions.
A report published in August 2020 by our predecessor Committee outlines this process in further detail.
Meet the Panel members
In August 2020 we appointed Professor Dame Jane Dacre as Chair of the Panel. Jane is Professor of Medical Education at University College London, a consultant physician and rheumatologist, and a former President of the Royal College of Physicians.
Further core members were later appointed to join Dame Jane in overseeing the work of the Expert Panel across several topic areas.
They are:
- Professor Anita Charlesworth
- Sir Robert Francis QC
- Professor Stephen Peckham
- Professor Emma Cave
- Sir David Pearson
Core panel members
Sir Robert Francis KC
- Former Chair, Healthwatch England
- Patient safety expert who chaired the investigation into the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust
Sir Robert Francis did not take part in the work on the patient safety evaluation due to his involvement in some of the public reviews and inquiries which the Expert Panel examined.
"I am delighted to be asked to help the Committee in this important work and to be enabled to help bring to the table the perspective of those who are using or may need health and social care services."
Anita Charlesworth
- Director of Research, Health Foundation
- Honorary Professor, University of Birmingham
"It is a privilege to be able to support the health and social care committee in its vital work. It is an unprecedent moment in the history of the UK’s health and care so there has never been a more critical time to hold key decision makers to account."
Professor Stephen Peckham
- Director of the Centre for Health Services Studies, University of Kent
- Professor of Health Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
"Being part of the Panel is an opportunity to support independent scrutiny of policy by holding government to account and helping to improve future health and social care policy."
Sir David Pearson
- Independent Chair and Advisor (Care and Health)
“I am very happy to be joining the Expert Panel as we support the work of the Committee in scrutinising health and social care policy and delivery in this country. We live in times of extraordinary challenge and opportunity. The work of the Committee is crucial in contributing to the development and wellbeing of social care and health for the people of this country."
Emma Cave
- Professor of Healthcare Law, Durham University
"I am honoured to support the Committee in scrutinising progress on Government health and social care commitments. A failure to deliver on promises damages credibility and trust and compromises the ability of service providers to meet the needs of the public and service users."
Specialist advisers to the Panel
Dr Sabrina Bajwah
- Honorary Consultant Palliative Medicine, King's Health Partners
- Clinical Reader, Cicely Saunders Institute
"I joined this panel because I am deeply committed to holding the government accountable for its promises to reduce health inequalities at the end of life. This urgent issue cannot be ignored, and through my role, I will strive to keep it at the forefront of the government’s agenda, pushing for meaningful action and lasting change."
Anita Hayes
- Clinical Quality Lead and Nursing Lecturer Practitioner, Hospice UK
"It's an honour to join the Expert Panel. As a palliative care nurse for 25 years, I've seen first-hand how brilliant our palliative and end of life care services can be in this country, and just how crucial they are for patients and families. But I also know all too well how stretched and patchy our provision is and that many groups are missing out. I look forward to bringing my knowledge and experience to this panel and hope we can identify a path to a future where everyone gets the high-quality care they need"
Image: Nursing Times
Professor Vic Rayner OBE
- Chair, Global Ageing Network
- CEO, National Care Forum
"Social care plays a vital role in the delivery of quality End of Life Care and Palliative care, and I hope that my involvement in the panel will ensure that this is both understood and government commitments now and in the future properly reflect the breadth of people receiving social care at the end of their life, and the settings within which they do this."
Dr Sam Royston
- Executive Director for Research and Policy, Marie Curie
"How we support dying people is a key marker of a civilised society - it shows our true sense of community and fellowship. With this in mind, the expert panel’s evaluation of the state of palliative care in England could not be more critical. I very much look forward to contributing to this work."
Dr Michael Tatterton
- Chief Nursing Officer, Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice
- Professor of Nursing
"I hope we can undertake a review that provides meaningful insight into whether government policy, expectations and funding leads to the delivery of palliative care services for both children and adults, that enables choice in the place and provider of high quality, responsive and relevant care."
Areas of inquiry
Previous work:
Patient safety
The Panel's evaluation of the Government's progress on meeting patient safety recommendations was published on 22 March 2024.
Learn more about the Panel's evaluation of the Government's progress on meeting patient safety recommendations, including the evidence received by the Panel.
Pharmacy services in England
The Panel's evaluation of the Government's commitments made on pharmacy services in England was published on 25 July 2023.
Find more information on the Health and Social Care Committee's website.
Digitisation of the NHS
The Panel's rating of the Government's progress in the area of the digitisation of the NHS was published on 17 February 2023.
Learn more about the Panel's evaluation of the Government's progress on the digitisation of the NHS, including the evidence received by the Panel, on our website.
Health and social care workforce in England:
The Panel's rating of the Government's progress in the area of the health and social care workforce in England was published on 25 June 2022.
Cancer services in England:
Mental health services:
More information on the Panel’s rating of the Government’s progress on mental health services, including the evidence received by the Panel, is available on our website.
Maternity services:
The Panel’s rating of the Government’s progress on maternity services was published on 6 July 2021.
More information on the Panel’s rating of the Government’s progress on maternity services, including the evidence received by the Panel, is available on our website.
The Health and Social Care Committee is a cross-party committee of MPs that scrutinises the work of the Department of Health and Social Care and its associated public bodies.
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