Fran Bennett joins Social Security Advisory Committee

25 September 2025
Fran is wearing glasses and a hand on her head

“I am delighted and honoured to have been appointed as a member of the Social Security Advisory Committee, which has a track record of providing impartial and independent advice on crucial social security issues to governments.”  Fran Bennett

Fran Bennett, Emeritus Fellow of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention (DSPI) at the University of Oxford, has been appointed as a member of the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC), an independent statutory body which advises the UK Government on social security. 

During her five-year term, Fran will take part in the Committee’s functions of advising on social security and related matters, including scrutinising secondary legislation underpinning the UK’s benefits system and providing impartial advice in the form of independent policy research and analysis.   

She brings extensive experience to the role, with many years of work on social policy issues for the UK government and voluntary organisations and in an independent consultancy capacity. She was employed by DSPI in a variety of roles for over 20 years of teaching and research, most recently as a Senior Research Fellow. She has a particular interest in poverty, participation and gender issues in addition to social security.   

“I am delighted and honoured to have been appointed as a member of the Social Security Advisory Committee, which has a track record of providing impartial and independent advice on crucial social security issues to governments. The Committee has a wide range of expertise amongst its membership and I am looking forward to making my contribution.” 

The Social Security Advisory Committee was set up in 1980 to provide advice to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on social security issues. For more information about her appointment, read the SSAC announcement.Â