11 March 2026
The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) has today, 11 March 2026, appointed Baroness Glenys Thornton as Chair-Elect.
Baroness Thornton brings extensive experience of leadership across social care, health, public service and civil society. A member of the House of Lords for more than 25 years, she has held senior ministerial roles, including as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Health, as well as various Shadow Spokesperson roles, and has led organisations focused on social innovation, co-production and community impact.
She will work alongside the current Chair, Rt. Hon. Paul Burstow, during a planned handover period ahead of the end of his term in June.
Rt. Hon. Paul Burstow said:
I am delighted that Baroness Thornton will be joining SCIE as Chair-Elect. She brings deep experience, sound judgement and a strong commitment to the values that underpin our work. We have deliberately planned a transition period to ensure continuity, stability and alignment as SCIE continues to support innovation, improvement and reform across social care to achieve better lives for adults and children and help shape the National Care Service to come.
Rt. Hon. Paul Burstow
Baroness Thornton said:
SCIE plays a vital role in collaborating and innovating across social care with a wide range of partners to change lives, grounded in evidence and lived experience. I am very much looking forward to working with colleagues across the organisation to build on our strong foundations and support the next phase of our impact.
Baroness Thornton
Mr Burstow will continue as Chair until the end of June, working closely with Baroness Thornton and Interim Chief Executive Gerard Crofton-Martin, who stepped into the role earlier this year from within SCIE’s existing senior leadership team.
Over recent years, SCIE has strengthened its governance, financial resilience and organisational capability, reinforcing its position as a trusted and independent partner across the social care system. From the Commission on the Role of Housing in the Future of Care and Support, which helped shape national conversations about providing more options for housing with care and support, to supporting over 120 innovative projects across the country funded by the Accelerating Reform Fund to inform future innovation development, to most recently setting out a framework for future national standards of care, SCIE remains focused on collaborating and innovating to improve the lives of adults and children.
Notes to editors
The Commission on the Role of Housing in the Future of Care and Support was funded by the Dunhill Medical Trust and led by SCIE. More information can be found here.
The Department of Health and Social Care appointed SCIE to provide hands-on support for the Accelerating Reform Fund until the end of March 2025. More information can be found here.
SCIE launched a new report, ‘Towards a National Care Service: raising national standards of care’, supported by The Access Group, which sets out how national standards could help deliver greater consistency, fairness and quality in adult social care across England. More information can be found here.
About SCIE
The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) improves the lives of people of all ages by co-producing, sharing, and supporting the use of the best available knowledge and evidence about what works in practice. We are a leading independent social care charity working with organisations that support adults, families and children across the UK.
If you have any questions regarding this release, please do not hesitate to contact George Appleton, Head of External Affairs, at george.appleton@scie.org.uk