A webinar presented by the Campaign for Social Science, in partnership with the Social Policy Association, as part of the AcSS 2026 series on devolution.
1pm-2pm, 15th April 2026
Register here.
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Speakers
- Chair: Will Hutton FAcSS, President of the Academy of Social Sciences
- Ellen Stewart, Professor of Public Policy & Health, University of Glasgow
- Ann-Marie Gray FAcSS, Professor of Social Policy, Ulster University
- Katherine Checkland, Professor of Health Policy & Primary Care, University of Manchester
- Dr Lorelei Jones, Senior Lecturer in Healthcare Organisation and Governance, Bangor University
On the eve of national elections in Scotland and Wales, and a year out from elections in Northern Ireland, we bring together health policy experts from all four UK nations to consider the progress, barriers, and opportunities for health policy, and to ask how the four nations can draw on each other’s experiences. The webinar will seek to shine a light on the health policy journeys of the four nations over the last 27 years, and offer some critical reflections of what has worked, what has not, and what the big questions are facing governments (old and new) across the Union.
About our speakers
- Will Hutton FAcSS, President of the Academy of Social Sciences. Will is a political economist, author and columnist. He is an associate with the London School of Economics Centre for Economic Performance, a non-executive director of the Satellite Applications Catapult, co-chair of the Purposeful Company, an associate of the Oxford Martin School, and writes a regular column for The Observer. He was principal of Hertford College, University of Oxford from 2011 to 2020. He has authored many bestselling books including the acclaimed The State We’re In (1995).
- Ellen Stewart, Professor of Public Policy & Health, University of Glasgow. Ellen is a social scientist working at the intersection of medical sociology and health policy. She joined the University of Glasgow as Professor of Public Policy & Health in 2024, having previously been co-Director of the Centre for Health Policy at the University of Strathclyde (2021-2024), amongst other roles. She is Editor of the journal Sociology of Health & Illness, an active member of the Social Policy Association, and has been appointed to the REF 2029 Main Panel C (Social Sciences) as an Interdisciplinary Expert.
- Ann-Marie Gray FAcSS, Professor of Social Policy, Ulster University. Ann Marie is Professor of Social Policy in Ulster University’s School of Criminology, Politics & Social Policy. She is also Policy Director of the ARK project, a joint Ulster University/Queen’s University Belfast organisation which helps researchers, policymakers and practitioners understand society and politics and encourages critical and positive policy debate. Ann Marie’s research interests are in the areas of social care, devolution and social policy and gender and social policy. She is also vice chair of the UK Social Policy Association and is chair of Youth Action Northern Ireland. She is a member of the ESRC Peer Review College.
- Katherine Checkland, Professor of Health Policy & Primary Care, University of Manchester. Kath qualified as a doctor in 1985 and subsequently trained as a GP. After eight years in practice, she decided to return to academic work, undertaking a Masters in Applied Social Research followed by a PhD focussing on the impact of National Service Frameworks in General Practice. Her subsequent research has focused upon the organisation and management of the NHS in England, with a particular focus on service planning and commissioning and on the impact of large-scale system change. She is Co-Director of the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Care Systems and Commissioning (www.prucomm.ac.uk). She retired from clinical practice as a GP in 2022 and is an NIHR Senior Investigator.
- Dr Lorelei Jones, Senior Lecturer in Healthcare Organisation and Governance, Bangor University. Lorelei is a medical anthropologist interested in healthcare organisation and professions. Her research is on the social organisation of healthcare, including remote, rural and coastal healthcare systems; the quality and safety of hospital care; and medical leadership, innovation and organisational change. She works with her local University Health Board in North Wales to develop healthcare professionals and services and contribute to international learning. Lorelei is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute and is a member of the editorial collective for Critical Public Health.