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
Louise Porter
- Registered Children’s Nurse and Head of Children and Young People at Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board
“It is an honour and a privilege to join the expert panel. After many years of working in healthcare transition, I am very aware of the impact transition from child into adult services has on young people, families, and carers and how variable the experience can be. I look forward to sharing my knowledge and experience, and hope that insight into the extent to which current guidelines and quality standards for the transition process between child and adult health and social care services are being met leads to high quality smooth transition for all young people.”
Melanie Williams
- Executive Director of People Services and Statutory Director of Adult Social Services at West Northants Council, and Former ADASS President
“I am excited to be a part of this work as I know that many young adults and families have poor experiences of their transition into adulthood when they have additional needs. And despite guidance about best practice to support person-centred planning and smooth movement through support and services, often we do not get this right for people consistently. This is an issue I care passionately about and I am really keen to build the evidence as to why this happens and what we can learn to do things differently in the future.
Professor Ruth Gilbert
- Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health
- Co-director at NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit
“I am delighted to support the Committee in scrutinising the evidence on how young people can be supported across the transition from child to adult health and social care services. The work of the Committee will be important to influence how young people can be helped to have a better start to their adult lives.”
Dr Alenka Brooks
- Consultant Gastroenterologist and Associate Medical Director for Young People’s Services at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals
“I am deeply committed to improving experience and outcomes for children and young people during transition. Professionals working in this critical field are passionate and committed but are often not supported by organisational and financial structures that ensure this work is a core activity for all organisations and services involved. I look forward to bringing my experience and knowledge to this panel, to enable all young people to receive an individualised and structured transition which will provide a platform from which they can thrive into adulthood.”
Naomi Russell
- Social worker, Deputy Lead for Demonstrator Projects at IMPACT
- Former Team Manager of the Transitions Team at Nottinghamshire County Council.
“I am a social worker and I have worked for many years in transitions services in various roles. I currently work for IMPACT – Improving Adult Social Care Together – a national centre dedicated to implementing evidence in adult social care. I am delighted to have been selected as a special adviser for this transitions project. I am committed to working with the Panel and Committee to drive improvements in this area so that young people and their families feel more confident and supported when moving into adulthood.”
Areas of inquiry
Current Work
The panel is currently evaluating the transition from child to adult health and social care services.
Previous work
Palliative Care in England
The Panel’s evaluation of the Government’s commitments made on palliative and end of life care in England was published on 28 November 2025.
The Health and Social Care Committee questioned the Minister of State for Care on the report findings on 7 January 2026.
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.
Built with Shorthand