Nadra AhmedSector leader

Biography

Nadra Ahmed CBE DL is Executive Co-Chairman of the National Care Association (NCA), a trade association representing small and medium-sized care providers in England, a role she has held since 2001. Her background is in training and education within social care, and until 2005 she was the registered manager of two private care homes for older people, having developed and run services since 1981. She served as Vice Chairman of Skills for Care for eleven years from its inception, has sat on numerous government taskforces and advisory committees at the Department of Health and Social Care at ministerial level, and was Co-Convenor of the Cavendish Coalition on health and social care workforce issues during the Brexit negotiations. She is known for arguing that sustained government investment in social care is essential to the functioning of the NHS, and in 2024 she founded the ProvidersUnite coalition to campaign for emergency funding for care and support providers. She was awarded an OBE in 2006 and a CBE in the New Year Honours 2023, both for services to social care.

References

1. 1.Ms Nadra Ahmed — Canterbury Christ Church University Governor profile — Role as NCA Chair, Cavendish Coalition Co-Convenor, Skills for Care background, government taskforce service, OBE 2006
2. 2.NCA chair Nadra Ahmed receives second honour in New Year's Honours list — Care Home Management — CBE awarded in King's first New Year's Honours List 2023 for services to social care; confirms title as Executive Chair, NCA
3. 3.Nadra Ahmed takes over as Care Provider Alliance chair — Care Home Management — Chair of Care Provider Alliance 2022/23; Vice Chairman of Skills for Care for 11 years; Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Kent
4. 4.BREAKING: Nadra Ahmed CBE, chair of the NCA and founder of ProvidersUnite will host Leaders in Care Conference — Care Home Professional — Founding of ProvidersUnite coalition; letter to Chancellor November 2024; 3,600+ signatories; CBE; NCA role since 2001
5. 5.

Expertise

Cited on

• Adult social care & reform
• Elderly care & frailty

Stated areas of expertise

• Social care provider sustainability
• Care workforce policy
• Social care funding reform
• Small and medium-sized care provider advocacy
• Brexit and overseas workforce
• Dementia care

Notable achievements

• Awarded CBE in the King's first New Year's Honours List (2023) for services to social care, having previously received an OBE in 2006 for the same. Source ↗
• Founded the ProvidersUnite coalition in November 2024, organising a letter to the Chancellor signed by over 150 providers and ultimately gathering more than 3,600 signatories calling for urgent social care funding. Source ↗
• Served as Chair of the Care Provider Alliance — the coalition of eleven national representative bodies — for 2022/23. Source ↗
• Appointed Co-Convenor of the Cavendish Coalition, representing health and social care workforce issues during Brexit negotiations. Source ↗
• Served as High Sheriff of Kent in 2023/24, a royal appointment. Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “Providers have been telling us they are very concerned. Racial comments when staff are out at work, staff frightened to get out of their cars until people pass by – people of colour are beginning to feel unwelcome.”

  executive chair of the National Care Association (NCA) · Adult social care & reform · 27 Aug 2026 · ‘Frightened to get out of their cars’: Britain’s toxic race debates threaten overseas care workers ↗

• “The reason we need international recruits is because no government has given us any solutions to getting a domestic workforce.”

  Executive chair of the National Care Association · Adult social care & reform · 27 Aug 2026 · Drop in overseas workers is ‘car crash’ for UK hospitals and care homes, say experts ↗

• “Responsible care homes would have been preparing for a heatwave since early March. Their priority is protecting vulnerable residents.”

  chair of the National Care Association · Elderly care & frailty · 27 Aug 2026 · ‘It’s dangerous’: how schools, care homes and other UK workplaces are coping in searing heat ↗

Source references

1. ‘Frightened to get out of their cars’: Britain’s toxic race debates threaten overseas care workerstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. Drop in overseas workers is ‘car crash’ for UK hospitals and care homes, say expertstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
3. ‘It’s dangerous’: how schools, care homes and other UK workplaces are coping in searing heattheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Websitehttps://nationalcareassociation.org.ukpublished here ↗
• Staff pagehttps://www.canterbury.ac.uk/about-us/leadership-and-governance/governing-body/ms-nadra-ahmed
• Press office emailinfo@nationalcareassociation.org.ukpublished here ↗

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