Last Updated on January 3, 2023

The social care sector has been widely recognised in the 2023 New Year Honours list and CMM is delighted to share the names of key individuals who have received an award for their commitment to the sector.

People working across the adult social care sector who support people with learning disabilities and autism, older people, nurses and individuals caring for people with mental health conditions have all been awarded and recognised for their tireless work.

Key leaders in the care sector included Dr Jane Townson, CEO of the Homecare Association, who has been awarded an OBE for her services in the homecare sector, with a particular focus on the COVID-19 pandemic. Nadra Ahmed OBE DL, Executive Chair, National Care Association also received a New Year Honours for her services to social care and Martin Jones, Chief Executive of Home Instead also received recognition for his services to older people. Professor Deborah Sturdy OBE has also been awarded a CBE in the 2023 New Year Honours list.

On receiving the award, Dr Jane Townson OBE said that supporting and representing the homecare sector throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, whilst challenging, has been and continues to be an absolute privilege. Adding, ‘To be recognised with an OBE is humbling and I am very grateful to those who nominated me. May the spotlight shine on all homecare workers, managers, and leaders, who dedicate themselves to improving the lives of others with the utmost compassion and commitment. During the pandemic, despite risk to themselves, they continued to go out every day to ensure older and disabled people could live safely and well at home, acting as a lifeline for many.

‘Homecare is a vital public service and greater investment is needed to grow and develop the workforce and innovate, so we can improve quality of life, extend healthy life expectancy, reduce inequalities, take pressure off the NHS, reduce costs for the health and care system, and support economic growth.’

Nadra Ahmed OBE DL, Executive Chair, National Care Association, said, ‘It was a very pleasant surprise and bit overwhelming. It is a huge honour personally but also important that colleagues working in social care has been recognised in this way. It feel like it highlights the recognition that social care needs to be at every table when looking at supporting people who need care and support across the country.’

Home Instead’s Chief Executive UK and International, Martin Jones, has been awarded an MBE in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to older people.

Martin’s introduction to the care sector was through his father who needed support due to frailty in old age. Through this experience Martin came to understand the importance of home care and the positive impact it could have on families like his. Shortly after, Martin joined Home Instead, initially as Chief Operating Officer in 2011. He went on to be Managing Director and then CEO – overseeing the company’s 245 franchise offices, delivering care to over 16,000 clients.

Speaking about the award, Martin Jones, Chief Executive of Home Instead UK and International said, ‘I am proud and humbled to receive this award, particularly as it is for services to older people. Home Instead’s mission is to expand the world’s capacity to care – we want to make the world a better place to age in. For this to become reality, companies like Home Instead, the government and broader society need to ensure that there is the infrastructure, resource and, importantly, people in place.’

Martin said that the integration of health and social care is critical, as is a mindset where old age is celebrated and revered.

The following individuals have been recognised:

Knighthood

Robin John Christian MILLAR CBE

Founder and Group Chair, Blue Raincoat Chrysalis Group.

For services to Music, to People with Disabilities, to Young People and to Charity.

(London, Greater London)

Commanders of the Order of the British Empire

Nadra AHMED OBE DL

Executive Chair, National Care Association. For services to Social Care.

(West Malling, Kent)

Rachael Louise FRASER

Registered Manager, Caring Connections Limited. For services to

Vulnerable People, particularly during Covid-19.

(Widnes, Cheshire)

Laura HARLING

Founder and Artistic Director

The Dot Collective. For services to Professional Theatre in Care and Supporting those Living with Dementia.

(London, Greater London)

Sarah Jane PICKUP OBE

Deputy Chief Executive, Local Government Association. For services to Social Care.

(Hertford, Hertfordshire)

 Professor Deborah Ann STURDY OBE

Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care, Department for Health and Social Care.

For services to Social Care.

(Brentwood, Essex)

Carol Margaret KEFFORD

Lately Chief Nurse and Clinical Director,

Nuffield Health. For services to Nursing

(Witney, Oxfordshire)

Professor Joanne RYCROFT-MALONE

Lately Programme Director, Health Services and Delivery Programme, National Institute for Health Research.

For services to Health and Social Care Research.

(Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria)

 Andrea STREET

Deputy Director, Welsh Government.

For services to Health and Social Care in Wales.

(Cardiff, South Glamorgan)

Dr Jane Karen TOWNSON PHILPOTT

Chief Executive Officer, Home Care Association. For services to Domiciliary

Care, particularly during Covid-19.

(Somerton, Somerset)

Andrew Mark VAN DOORN

Chief Executive, Housing Associations Charitable Trust. For services to Housing.

(London, Greater London)

 Claire Helen BEVAN

Chair, Audit Committee, Older People's Commissioner for Wales. For services to Nursing and Patient Care.

(Cardiff, South Glamorgan)

David Charles Townshend BICKERS

Co-Founder and Chief Executive, The Douglas Bader Foundation. For services to People with Disabilities.

(Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire)

Antony Robson JAMESON-ALLEN

Co-Founder, The Sporting Memories Foundation. For services to Dementia and Loneliness.

(Scarborough, North Yorkshire)

Martin Clifford JONES

Chief Executive Officer, Home Instead

UK Limited. For services to Older People.

(Hartford, Cheshire)

Jennifer Irene NOLAN

Founder and lately Manager, Lawrence Home Nursing Team Limited. For services to End of Life Care.

(Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire)

Jillian Claire QUINN

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Dementia Forward. For services to People with Dementia.

(Harrogate, North Yorkshire)

 Christopher David WILKINS

Chief Executive and Co-Founder, The Sporting Memories Foundation. For services to People Living with Dementia and Loneliness.

(North Berwick, East Lothian)

Medallists of the Order of the British Empire

Nura Omar AABE

Founder, Autism Independence. For services to People with Autism

(Bristol, City of Bristol)

Susan Anne ANDERSON

Founder Member, Barton Group Riding for the Disabled. For services to People with Disabilities and to the community in Linton, Cambridgeshire.

(Cambridge, Cambridgeshire)

Susan Jane CHAMBERS

Convenor, Parents of Autistic Spectrum Disorder Adults. For services to People with Autism in Edinburgh and the Lothians.

(Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh)

Sarah Elizabeth DALE

Director of Quality, Innovation and Collaboration, East Cheshire Hospice. For services to End of Life Care.

(Macclesfield, Cheshire)

Lorraine FOSTER

For services to People with Learning Disabilities in Lisburn, Northern Ireland.

(Lisburn, County Antrim)

Charles Frederick BANKS

Chair, North West Wheelchair Users Group and Secretary, Manchester United Disabled Supporters'

Association. For services to People with Disabilities in Greater Manchester and North-West England.

(Manchester, Greater Manchester)

Elizabeth Esther Mary Manning BAILY

For services to Disability Advocacy and to Charity in West Sussex.

(Chichester, West Sussex)

Geoffrey David WILKINSON

For services to People with Disabilities in Southampton, Hampshire.

(Southampton, Hampshire)

 Shirley Catherine WILSON

For services to the Deaf and Deaf/Blind Communities

(Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire)

Medallists of the Order of the British Empire

Nura Omar AABE Founder, Autism Independence. For

services to People with Autism

(Bristol, City of Bristol)

Susan Anne ANDERSON

Founder Member, Barton Group Riding for the Disabled. For services to People

with Disabilities and to the community in Linton, Cambridgeshire

(Cambridge, Cambridgeshire)

Lorraine Susan LEAR

Development Manager, Northallerton and the Dales Mencap Society. For services to People with Learning Disabilities in North Yorkshire

(Northallerton, North Yorkshire)

Dara Seamus McANULTY

For services to the Environment and to People with Autism Spectrum Disorder

(Annalong, County Down)

Michael Anthony NEWMAN

Founder, Speed of Sight. For services to People with Disabilities including Visual Impairments.

(Manchester, Greater Manchester)

Visit the UK Government website to download the New Year Honours List 2023 in full.

In other news, the National Care Forum (NCF), the leading membership organisation for not-for-profit organisations in the care and support sector, announced the appointment of five new board members at its Annual General Meeting (AGM).