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 ...
(born 25 April 1949) is a British academic. She is visiting professor at the
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...
Amber Rudd
Amber Augusta Rudd (born 1 August 1963) is a British former politician who served as Home Secretary from 2016 to 2018 and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2018 to 2019. She was a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Pa ...
social worker
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...
. She was previously chief social work adviser to the
Scottish Government
The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...
and a former president of the Association of Directors of Social Work.
Early life
Jay was born in Edinburgh. Her father, who was a carpenter, died following an industrial accident when she was two. She studied social work at
Moray House School of Education
The Moray House School of Education and Sport ('Moray House') is a school within the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science at the University of Edinburgh. It is based in historic buildings on the Holyrood Campus, located between the ...
, now part of the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
.
Career
In 2005, she took up the post of chief social work inspector at the Social Work Inspection Agency (SWIA), a government organisation scrutinising all aspects of social services provided by local authorities in Scotland. She served as chief executive and chief social work inspector until the functions of SWIA and the Care Commission were taken over by the Care Inspectorate in 2011. She remained as chief social work inspector to the Scottish Government until early 2013.
child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in Human sexual activity, sexual activit ...
in the
Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham
The Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham is a metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. It is named after its main settlement of Rotherham. The wider borough spans a larger area and covers the outlying towns of Maltby, Swinton, Wath-upo ...
in
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...
. She is the author of the investigation's report, published in August 2014.
In September 2014 she was appointed to act as an expert adviser to an independent panel inquiry which was intended to examine how the UK's institutions have handled their duties to protect children from sexual abuse. Following the abandonment of the initial panel inquiry in favour of a statutory inquiry, she was re-appointed as an adviser to the subsequent Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse chaired by Dame Lowell Goddard. After Goddard resigned as chair, it was announced on 11 August 2016 that Jay had been appointed to chair the Inquiry. The inquiry published its final report on 20 October 2022.
Church of England role
On 20 July 2023, it was announced that the
archbishops of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop was Augustine ...
and
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
had appointed Alexis Jay to provide proposals for an independent system of safeguarding for the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
.
Honours
She was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
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 ...
(OBE) in the
2012 Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours List 2012 was released on 16 June 2012 in the United Kingdom, on 11 June 2012 in Australia on 4 June 2012 in New Zealand, and
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
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 ...
(CBE) in the
2024 New Year Honours
The 2024 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hono ...
for services to the prevention of child sexual abuse.