Norman Warner, Baron Warner

The Right Honourable
The Lord Warner
PC
Minister of State at the Department of Health
In office
2005–2007
Prime Minister Tony Blair
Personal details
Born (1940-09-08) 8 September 1940
Political party Labour (before 2015)
Crossbencher (2015 onwards)
Education Dulwich College
Alma mater Nuffield College, Oxford
University of California, Berkeley

Norman Reginald Warner, Baron Warner, PC (born 8 September 1940) is a British member of the House of Lords. A career civil servant from 1960, he was created a life peer in 1998. He was Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the Department of Health from 2003 to 2007, and a Minister of State at the Department of Health from 2005 to 2007. He has also been an adviser to a number of consulting companies.[1] On 19 October 2015, Lord Warner resigned the Labour whip and became a Non-affiliated member of the House of Lords.[2]

Early life

Warner was born on 8 September 1940. He was educated at Dulwich College, an all-boys public school in Dulwich, London. He then studied at Nuffield College, Oxford,[3] and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a Master of Public Health degree.[3][4]

Career

Following a career in the civil service in a variety of roles from 1960, he was Director of Social Services for Kent County Council between 1985 and 1991, and chair of the City and East London Family Services Authority 1991 to 1994.[3] He chaired the National Inquiry into Selection, Development and Management of Staff in Children's Homes in 1992.[3]

In 2010 Lord Warner declared he was a strategic advisor to PA Consulting Group, for "strategic advice relating to Middle East activities only".[5]

In 2008 he told the House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee that he had "a contract with a particular part of DLA Piper concerned with infrastructure and public services and that requires me to give advice in those areas, including a bit of health regulation."[6] In 2009 he said he was "a paid adviser to the General Healthcare Group" as well as "the chairman of NHS London Development Agency".[7]

Political career

He was created a Life Peer 29 July 1998 taking the title Baron Warner, of Brockley in the London Borough of Lewisham,[8][9] and was Senior Policy Adviser to Home Secretary Jack Straw from 1997 to 1998.[3]

He was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department of Health from 2003 to 2005, and a Minister of State at the Department of Health from 2005 to 2007.[10] He was appointed to the Privy Council in June 2006,[11] and was sworn in on 19 July 2006.

In August 2010, Lord Warner was appointed by the Coalition Government as Chair of the Social Care Funding Commission, with a remit to study future funding arrangements for the elderly. In June 2014, he was appointed as a Commissioner to oversee improvements in Birmingham City Council's Children’s Social Care services, following a poor review by Professor Julian Le Grand.[12][13]

In October 2015, Warner resigned the Labour whip in the House of Lords and became a Non-affiliated member. In a letter to the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, he wrote that Labour was no longer "a credible party of government-in-waiting...Labour will only win another election with a policy approach that wins back people who have moved to voting Conservative and Ukip, as well as to Greens and SNP. Your approach is unlikely to achieve this shift."[2]

NHS controversy

In April 2013, Lord Warner announced he would vote with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in a key vote in the House of Lords on proposed NHS regulations that Labour claimed would enable companies to bid for almost all health services. He was the only Labour peer to do so.[14]

In March 2014, Warner wrote an article for The Guardian newspaper suggesting that NHS users should pay £10 a month and £20 for every night in hospital.[15][16] Labour swiftly rejected these ideas. Shadow Health Minister, Jamie Reed, commented: "This is not something Labour would ever consider. We believe in an NHS free at the point of use, and a Labour government will repeal David Cameron's NHS changes that put private profit before patient care."[17]

Lord Warner is a director of Sage Advice Ltd, and an adviser to Xansa (a technology firm) and Byotrol (an antimicrobial company) - all of which sell or are hoping to sell services or products to the NHS, according to website Social Investigations.[18] He also took up a position with Apax Partners – one of the leading private equity investors in healthcare, according to the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency.[19]

Other interests

He has also held the Chair of the Youth Justice Board, National Council for Voluntary Organisations and the London Region Sports Board. In 2010, Warner was elected chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group,[20] becoming Vice Chair in 2015.[21]

He is a member of the Advisory Council of Reform.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Laura Donnelly and Amy Willis, Daily Telegraph, 22 August 2009, Millions spent on NHS management consultants with Labour links
  2. 1 2 Wintiour, Patrick (19 October 2015). "Norman Warner resigns whip, calling Labour 'no longer credible'". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Norman Reginald Warner WARNER". People of Today. Debretts. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  4. ↑ Brindle, David (11 June 2014). "Lord Warner: I'll tackle 'national disgrace' of Birmingham children's services". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  5. ↑ House of Lords, Register of Lords' Financial and Other Interests as at 18 June 2010
  6. ↑ House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee, 8 May 2008,Examination of Witnesses (Question Numbers 580-599), Public Administration Committee - Minutes of Evidence. Lobbying: Access and influence in Whitehall
  7. ↑ Hansard, HL Deb, 6 May 2009, c656
  8. ↑ "No. 5213". The London Gazette. 3 August 1998. p. 8430.
  9. ↑ House of Lords, 12 October 1998, Minutes and Order Paper - Minutes of Proceedings
  10. 1 2 parliament.uk, Lord Warner, accessed 23 April 2013
  11. ↑ Number 10 press release announcing the appointment
  12. ↑ David Brindle (11 June 2014). "Lord Warner: I'll tackle 'national disgrace' of Birmingham children's services". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  13. ↑ Neil Elkes (12 December 2014). "Lord Warner: NHS shares blame for Birmingham child protection failings". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  14. ↑ The Guardian, 24 April 2013
  15. ↑ Norman Warner and Jack O'Sullivan (31 March 2014). "£10 each can save the NHS". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  16. ↑ Sophie Borland (30 March 2014). "Call for £10 a month fee to use NHS and £20 a night to stay in hospital: Former Labour health minister says out-of-date service needs the cash". Daily Mail. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  17. ↑ ITN News, 31 March 2014
  18. ↑ Social Investigations
  19. ↑ Alliance for Lobbying Transparency
  20. ↑ "All Party Parliamentary Humanist Group". British Humanist Association. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  21. ↑ "Clive Lewis elected Chair of All Party Parliamentary Humanist Group". British Humanist Association. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
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