Deborah Stedman-Scott, Baroness Stedman-Scott, (born 23 November 1955) is a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

and the former Chief Executive Officer of Tomorrow's People Trust. She had served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2019 until 2023.

Early life and education

Born in

Paddington, London Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddingto ...

, she is the daughter of Jack and Doreen Margaret Scott and was educated at Ensham Secondary School for Girls, Southwark Technical College and the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

Training College.

Career

Stedman-Scott has worked for

National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it ...

1972–1976, for the

1978–83 and for

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

Chamber of Commerce 1983–84. She joined Tomorrow's People Trust in 1984, a charity working with unemployed people. She held various roles there, rising through the ranks to become Chief Executive from 2005 to 2015. The UK Charity Awards 2005 named her Charity Principal of the Year. She was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

in 2007 and an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

2008 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2008 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 29 December 2007, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2008. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and a ...

. On 12 July 2010, Stedman-Scott was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as Baroness Stedman-Scott, of

Rolvenden Rolvenden is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village is centred on the A28 Ashford to Hastings road, south-west of Tenterden. The settlement of Rolvenden Layne, south of Rolvenden, is also part of th ...

in the

County of Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the ...

. She was appointed to be a

government whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology o ...

(

Baroness-in-Waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

) on 27 October 2017. On 30 July 2019, Stedman-Scott was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in the

first Johnson ministry The first Johnson ministry began on 24 July 2019 when Queen Elizabeth II invited Boris Johnson to form a new administration, following the resignation of the predecessor Prime Minister Theresa May. May had resigned as Leader of the Conse ...

. On 17 September 2021, she took on additional responsibility as

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

at the

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign ...

, in the second

cabinet reshuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the Head of State changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parlia ...

of the

second Johnson ministry The second Johnson ministry began on 16 December 2019, three days after Boris Johnson's audience with Queen Elizabeth II where she invited him to form a new administration following the 2019 general election, in which the Conservative Party w ...

. She is also a Trustee of New Devon Opera and New Philanthropy Capital.

Personal life

She entered into a civil partnership with Gabrielle Joy Stedman-Scott in 2006."Deborah Stedman-Scott (Peer)"
, Westminster Parliamentary Record

References

External links

Official Biography House of Lords
1955 births Living people English LGBT politicians Deputy Lieutenants of East Sussex Officers of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) life peers Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Lesbian politicians LGBT life peers {{Life-peer-stub