Caroline AbrahamsSector leader

Biography

Caroline Abrahams CBE is Charity Director at Age UK, Britain's leading charity focused on improving experiences of later life, where she oversees all influencing, policy, campaigns, media and brand activity and serves as the charity's lead spokesperson. A social scientist and barrister, she has spent her career in the voluntary and public sectors, having previously held senior roles at Action For Children and the Local Government Association, and served as a policy adviser to Ministers and Shadow Ministers and as a senior civil servant. She joined Age UK in 2012 and is co-chair of the Care and Support Alliance, a coalition of over 70 charities campaigning for decent adult social care. She is a member of the NHS Assembly and was formerly a Senior Responsible Officer for the Ageing Well strand of the NHS Long Term Plan. She was awarded a CBE in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to the voluntary sector and older people during Covid-19.

References

1. 1.Directors | Age UK — Confirms role as Charity Director, joined 2012, background as social scientist and barrister, prior roles at Action For Children and LGA, policy interests
2. 2.Age UK spokespeople | Media Centre | Age UK — Confirms she oversees Age UK's influencing work and is the charity's lead spokesperson; confirms press contact details
3. 3.Queen's Birthday Honours List 2021 (HM Government) — Confirms CBE awarded to Caroline Susan Abrahams, Charity Director Age UK, for services to the Voluntary Sector and Older People during Covid-19
4. 4.NHS England » Caroline Abrahams — Confirms NHS Assembly membership, former SRO for Ageing Well strand of NHS Long Term Plan, and co-chair of Care and Support Alliance
5. 5.Caroline Abrahams joins Kinship as Chair of Trustees

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking
• Elderly care & frailty
• Adult social care & reform

Stated areas of expertise

• Adult social care reform
• Integrated health and care
• Older people's rights and poverty
• Care workforce policy
• NHS Long Term Plan implementation
• Voluntary sector leadership

Notable achievements

• Awarded CBE in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to the Voluntary Sector and Older People during Covid-19 Source ↗
• Appointed co-chair of the Care and Support Alliance (70+ charities campaigning for decent social care for all who need it) Source ↗
• Appointed member of the NHS Assembly and formerly Senior Responsible Officer for the Ageing Well strand of the NHS Long Term Plan Source ↗
• Appointed Chair of Trustees at Kinship (kinship carer charity), announced November 2024 Source ↗
• Quoted in national press on the government's announcement of an independent commission on adult social care reform (January 2025), raising concerns about implementation timelines Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “The influenza or flu virus that's circulating here now is a much more serious health threat than that, especially if we are older, have underlying health conditions or compromised immunity.”

  Charity director at Age UK · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · ‘Beyond belief’ that resident doctors could strike amid flu crisis, says Starmer ↗

• “The plummeting temperatures, ice and snow we are now seeing are hazardous for older people, especially if they are living with serious health conditions or are generally frail. We urge anyone in this situation to take extra care of themselves and the general public to look out for any older person they know who could do with some extra support.”

  charity director at Age UK · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Flu patient numbers in English hospitals fall for second straight week ↗

• “What's happening to some very ill older people when they come to A&E is a crisis hiding in plain sight which the government must face up to and take immediate action to resolve.”

  charity director of Age UK · Elderly care & frailty · 27 Aug 2026 · Nearly 150,000 aged 90 and above wait 12 hours in England’s A&Es each year ↗

• “This is arguably the first time that someone as senior, respected and independent as Baroness Casey has been prepared to tell the truth about the state of social care in our country.”

Source references

1. ‘Beyond belief’ that resident doctors could strike amid flu crisis, says Starmertheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. Flu patient numbers in English hospitals fall for second straight weektheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
3. Nearly 150,000 aged 90 and above wait 12 hours in England’s A&Es each yeartheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
4. Louise Casey: England’s social care system faces ‘moment of reckoning’theguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
5. Disabled people in England ‘betrayed’ by cuts to new-build accessibility targetstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Xhttps://x.com/Car_Abrahamspublished here ↗
• Staff pagehttps://www.ageuk.org.uk/about-us/who-we-are/directors-trustees/directors/
• Press office emailmedia@ageuk.org.ukpublished here ↗
• Press office phone020 3033 1430published here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.