Alexis Jay | |
|---|---|
 Jay in 2016 | |
| Chair of theIndependent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse | |
| In office 11 August 2016 – 20 October 2022 | |
| Appointed by | Amber Rudd (asHome Secretary) |
| Preceded by | Dame Lowell Goddard |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alexandrina Henderson Farmer (1949-04-25)25 April 1949 (age 75) Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Occupation | Professor,social work leader |
Alexandrina Henderson Farmer Jay,CBE (born 25 April 1949) is a British academic. She is visiting professor at theUniversity of Strathclyde and the independent chair of theCentre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection (CELCIS).[1]
Following the resignation of JusticeLowell Goddard, Home SecretaryAmber Rudd announced on 11 August 2016 that Jay had been appointed to chair theIndependent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, of which she had previously been a Panel member.[2]
Jay is a former seniorsocial worker.[3] She was previously chief social work adviser to theScottish Government[4] and a former president of the Association of Directors of Social Work.[5]
Jay was born in Edinburgh. Her father, who was a carpenter, died following an industrial accident when she was two.[6] She studied social work atMoray House School of Education, now part of theUniversity of Edinburgh.
In 2005, she took up the post of chief social work inspector at theSocial Work Inspection Agency (SWIA), a government organisation scrutinising all aspects of social services provided by local authorities in Scotland.[7] She served as chief executive and chief social work inspector until the functions of SWIA and theCare Commission were taken over by theCare Inspectorate in 2011. She remained as chief social work inspector to the Scottish Government until early 2013.
She led theIndependent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham, an investigation intochild sexual abuse in theMetropolitan Borough of Rotherham inSouth Yorkshire.[4] She is the author of the investigation's report, published in August 2014.[8]
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.[9] Following the abandonment of the initial panel inquiry in favour of astatutory inquiry, she was re-appointed as an adviser to the subsequentIndependent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse chaired by DameLowell Goddard. After Goddard resigned as chair, it was announced on 11 August 2016 that Jay had been appointed to chair the Inquiry.[2] The inquiry published its final report on 20 October 2022.[10]
On 20 July 2023, it was announced that thearchbishops of Canterbury andYork had appointed Alexis Jay to provide proposals for an independent system of safeguarding for theChurch of England.[11]
She was appointedOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the2012 Birthday Honours,[1][12] andCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the2024 New Year Honours for services to the prevention of child sexual abuse.[13]
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