Melanie Weatherley

Who Melanie Weatherley is

Melanie Weatherley MBE is Chair of the Lincolnshire Care Association (LinCA), a position she has held since 2016. She co-founded Walnut Care in 2002, now one of the largest domiciliary care providers in Lincolnshire, employing over 200 care professionals and providing 600,000 care visits annually. LinCA represents a range of independent and voluntary sector care providers across Lincolnshire, working to improve standards of care and giving members a voice locally and nationally. Weatherley is also Co-Chair of the Care Association Alliance, a national body bringing together care associations to engage with the wider health and care system, and is a Fellow of NICE and Skills for Care. She received an MBE in 2020 for services to social care, including establishing the Care Home Trusted Assessor Scheme. She has consistently argued for fairer pay for care workers, increased government funding for social care, and closer integration between social care providers and the NHS.

References for this biography

1. 1.Melanie Weatherley MBE – DHSC Social Care Blog — Establishes her founding of Walnut Care, LinCA chairship since 2016, MBE for setting up the Care Home Trusted Assessor Scheme, the nurse associate scheme, and her Fellowship of NICE and Skills for Care.
2. 2.Melanie Weatherley MBE announced as speaker at major UK care events – Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce — Confirms her role, MBE, LinCA membership numbers (386 providers, 21,000 workers), and her public-speaking profile on social care reform.
3. 3.Lincolnshire Care Leader Appointed to National Care Body – Homecare.co.uk — Documents her appointment as Co-Chair of the Care Association Alliance and her role as CEO of Walnut Care.
4. 4.User details – Melanie Weatherley MBE – Lincolnshire MordernGov — Official public record confirming her title as Chair of LinCA, the organisation's correspondence address (Greetwell Place, 2 Lime Kiln Way, Lincoln, LN2 4US), and her membership of the Lincolnshire Health and Wellbeing Board and Lincolnshire Integrated Care Partnership.
5. 5.Lincolnshire care leader says fixing 'broken' social care is more than a financial problem – LincsOnline — Recent press coverage (August 2026) showing her active public voice on social care reform, NHS integration, and workforce pay.
6. 6.Lincolnshire care home trusted assessor role – Local Government Association — Evidences the Care Home Trusted Assessor Scheme developed by LinCA, including pilot launch and outcomes (439 referrals, 340 assessments, 304 discharges supported in first full year).
7. 7.LINCOLNSHIRE CARE ASSOCIATION LIMITED – Companies House — Confirms registered office address (Greetwell Place, 2 Lime Kiln Way, Greetwell Road, Lincoln, LN2 4US) and active company status.

Notable achievements

• Appointed MBE in 2020 for services to social care, including establishing the Lincolnshire Care Home Trusted Assessor Scheme. Source ↗
• Led a nationally first-of-its-kind scheme to train care workers to become nurse associates. Source ↗
• Appointed Co-Chair of the Care Association Alliance, the national body representing local care associations, having been nominated by four care association chairs. Source ↗
• Chaired LinCA since 2016, during which time it has represented 386 providers and 21,000 care workers across Lincolnshire. Source ↗

What Melanie Weatherley has said

• “The Casey Commission represents a genuine opportunity to build the cross-party consensus that social care reform has long needed, and we strongly welcome its work. But the sector cannot afford to stand back and wait until 2028 for answers.”

  co-chair of the Care Association Alliance · Adult social care & reform · 9 Sept 2026 · Care Association Alliance launches policy papers targeting sector reform ↗

• “No family should receive worse care because of where they happen to live, and no provider should have to choose between keeping a contract and delivering care safely. These are not failings of the people running the system. They are what happens when a national risk is carried on local budgets.”

  co-chair of the Care Association Alliance · Adult social care & reform · 9 Sept 2026 · Care Association Alliance sets out a national funding model for adult social care ↗

• “Social care does not need its own version of the NHS. An arm's-length body sitting above the system is not what we have been calling for, and it is not what determines whether people receive good care. A national framework is essential, but it can be built within the structures we already have.”

  co-chair of the Care Association Alliance · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · Care chief: ‘We never needed our own version of the NHS, we need a national funding settlement’ ↗

• “Social care has been left on the 'too difficult' pile by successive governments for far too long. A change of leadership cannot become another excuse for delay. It must be the moment the country finally grips this.”

  co-chair of the Care Association Alliance · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · Care Leader: new PM must take social care off the “too difficult” pile, and Burnham must stand by his word ↗

• “The Care Association Alliance welcomes the creation of the Adult Social Care Negotiating Body and the first Fair Pay Agreement for care workers. For too long, the people who provide hands-on care to some of the most vulnerable in our society have not been paid or recognised in line with the skill and responsibility the job demands.”

  co-chair of the Care Association Alliance · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · First-ever adult social care fair pay agreement announced ↗

• “Andy Burnham wrote the last serious blueprint for a National Care Service in 2010, and watched it scrapped within weeks. He now has the mandate to finish what he started.”

  Co-Chair of the Care Association Alliance · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · INTERVIEW: What does Andy Burnham mean for social care? Two MPs give their verdicts ↗

Where Melanie Weatherley has been quoted

1. Care leader: “12p an hour for five years’ experience is not career progression”carehomeprofessional.com · 16 Oct 2026
2. Care Association Alliance launches policy papers targeting sector reformcaring-times.co.uk · 9 Sept 2026
3. Care Association Alliance sets out a national funding model for adult social carecaring-times.co.uk · 9 Sept 2026
4. Care chief: ‘We never needed our own version of the NHS, we need a national funding settlement’carehomeprofessional.com · 8 Sept 2026
5. Care Leader: new PM must take social care off the “too difficult” pile, and Burnham must stand by his wordcarehomeprofessional.com · 8 Sept 2026
6. First-ever adult social care fair pay agreement announcedcarehomeprofessional.com · 8 Sept 2026
7. INTERVIEW: What does Andy Burnham mean for social care? Two MPs give their verdictscarehomeprofessional.com · 8 Sept 2026

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.

• City of London urged against business rates hikes to cover £70m shortfallCity AM
• Five questions Labour must answer on social careProspect Magazine
• Hunts MP launches campaign to end social care 'savings trap' for disabled adultsThe Hunts Post

Contact & links

• Websitehttps://www.linca.org.ukpublished here ↗
• Staff pagehttps://lincolnshire.moderngov.co.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=1450
• LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-weatherley-mbe-b3427b34/

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