Julia Frances Cumberlege, Baroness Cumberlege, ( Camm; born 27 January 1943) is a former

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

businesswoman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

. She was created a life peer on 18 May 1990 as Baroness Cumberlege, ''of

Newick Newick is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It is located on the A272 road east of Haywards Heath. The parish church, St. Mary's, dates mainly from the Victorian era, but still has a No ...

in the County of East Sussex''. She retired from the House of Lords on 20 December 2024.

Early life and education

Daughter of Lambert Ulrich Camm (né Kamm; d. 1997), of Appleton,

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

, general practitioner, the first medical officer for

Plumpton Racecourse Plumpton Racecourse is a National Hunt racecourse in the village of Plumpton, East Sussex near Lewes and Brighton. Racing first took place at Plumpton in 1884. Its most notable race is the Sussex National Handicap Chase. History Plumpton Rac ...

and formerly of the

Indian Medical Service The Indian Medical Service (IMS) was a military medical service in British India, which also had some civilian functions. It served during the two World Wars, and remained in existence until the independence of India in 1947. Many of its officer ...

, and Mary Geraldine (née Russell), she was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart School, at

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly 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 High Weald, whose sandstone ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

.Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 1, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 993Dod's Parliamentary Companion, 175th year, Dod's Parliamentary Companion Ltd, 2007, p. 620

Career

After her marriage in 1961 and raising her three sons, Cumberlege served in local government as a justice of the peace for East Sussex from 1973 to 1985, and a member of

East Sussex County Council East Sussex County Council is the upper tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the latter additionally includes Brighton and Hove. East ...

from 1974 to 1985. She was appointed

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1985, and served as a Deputy Lieutenant of East Sussex from 1986 to 1991. As chair of a review team commissioned by the

Department of Health and Social Security The Department of Health and Social Security (commonly known as the DHSS) was a Ministry (government department), ministry of the Her Majesty's Government, British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed b ...

, Cumberlege produced the Cumberlege Report in 1986 which, among other things, recommended that nurses should be able to prescribe some drugs. From 1987 to 1989, she was a member of the DHSS Expert Advisory Group on AIDS. In 1992 she was appointed a Junior Health Minister and for five years covered all health and social services matters in the House of Lords. Two years later, she vetoed a major Health Education Authority campaign on

condom A condom is a sheath-shaped Barrier contraception, barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a Sexually transmitted disease, sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both external condo ...

use, "the first attempt for two years to target the general population at risk of

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

", on the grounds that the poster, press and cinema ads "could cause offence" although there had been no evidence of that when testing the campaign. She was also the Sponsor Minister for the city of Plymouth responsible for regeneration and a budget of £45 million per year. In 1997 she was Opposition Spokesperson for Health. In the House of Lords in 2000 on the subject of the Britain's

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

, remarking that "We are all trapped in a marvellously pure ideology, the ideal socialist dream", she advocated removing the requirement that the NHS be free at the point of use, replacing it with "an NHS insurance premium", and that "allowances could be made for those with private insurance and private expertise could be used". She also said that "The NHS ought not to exclude as a matter of principle the private sector" stating that "Competition is both a spur and a discipline". She said that "some might advocate putting a hospital or two under private management if only to prove that the Government can do it better." She later went on to say, "I am not advocating privatising the NHS. An undiluted private health insurance scheme is not the answer. With current schemes, so much seems to be excluded. And just when the need is greatest the premiums become unaffordable." In 2006–07, Cumberlege chaired a

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

reviewing the approach of the Catholic Church in England and Wales to child protection. In 2010 she was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the

Royal College of Nursing The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered trade union and professional body in the United Kingdom for those in the profession of nursing. It was founded in 1916 as the College of Nursing, receiving its royal charter in 1928. Queen Eliz ...

. She conducted a review of maternity services for

NHS England NHS England, formally the NHS Commissioning Board for England, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care. It oversees the budget, planning, delivery and day-to-day operation of the commissioning si ...

in 2015. Better Births, the report of the review, recommended that all women should have the choice to give birth where they want, with the support of the same midwife throughout pregnancy, labour and the early weeks of motherhood, with control over a personal maternity care budget of £3,000 to be spent on the NHS care they choose. In February 2018, she was appointed by the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, to chair the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Security Review, investigating reports from women patients about harmful side effects from medicines and medical devices, and how the health service had responded. The Review was reported in July 2020. It dealt with oral pregnancy test Primodos, anti-epilepsy drug sodium valproate and pelvic mesh repairs. The Review described "a culture of denial, institutional resistance to responding to safety concerns, and an absence of accountability".

Business ventures

In 2001 she launched Cumberlege Connections Ltd.; this became Cumberlege Eden and Partners in 2013. These companies specialized in health sector training and consultancy.

Affiliations

*Trustee, Cancer Research UK *Senior Associate,

The King's Fund The King's Fund is an independent think tank, which is involved with work relating to the health system in England. It organises conferences and other events. Since 1997, they have jointly funded a yearly award system with GlaxoSmithKline. T ...

. *Co-chair, Associate Parliamentary Health Group and the All Party Parliamentary Osteoporosis Group *Secretary, Dying Well Parliamentary Group *Vice President, Royal Society for Public Health *Honorary Fellow,

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

*Vice President of the Royal Colleges of Nursing and Midwives *Chair of Trustees,

Chailey Heritage School Chailey Heritage School is a special school located in North Chailey, East Sussex, England. It is owned and operated by the Chailey Heritage Foundation. The school is for children and young adults, aged between 3 and 19, with complex physical ...

*President, Age UK East Sussex *Patron
National Kidney Federation
*Patron, Pregnancy Sickness Support *Patron, Education for Health *Patron, The MASIC Foundation *Patron, The Iolanthe Midwifery Trust

Personal life

In 1961, she married Patrick Francis Howard Cumberlege, of Vuggles Farm, Newick, Lewes, Sussex, sometime chairman of the Newick Village Society and formerly of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, grandson of Sir Alexander Doran Gibbons, 7th Baronet. They have three sons. A

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, she spoke at the Catholic Medical Association (formerly the Guild of Catholic Doctors) conference in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

in April 2009, officiated by Archbishop Peter Smith.April 2009 Catholic Medical Association conference

References

External links

Interview"Education for Health" website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cumberlege, Julia Cumberlege, Baroness 1943 births Place of birth missing (living people) British businesspeople English Roman Catholics Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) life peers Deputy lieutenants of East Sussex Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Living people People from Newick Honorary Fellows of the Royal College of Nursing Dames of St. Gregory the Great National Health Service people Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014