Lord Patel, Shadow Minister for Communities in the House of Lords, is internationally renowned for his work with communities and social cohesion across a range of issues including mental health, drug and alcohol use, crime, and regeneration.

Lord Patel has been appointed to a number of national boards and committees, including the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work, the Home Office’s Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs, the Healthcare Commission and the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse. He served the Mental Health Act Commission since 1995 culminating in his appointment as Chairman in 2002 and in 2008 was appointed to the board of the Care Quality Commission.

Lord Patel has contributed to a variety of Government policies including being the architect of the Government’s five year action plan for delivering race equality in mental health care. In 2007 he was appointed by the Prime Minister to act as a Ministerial Adviser to the Secretary of State (DCLG) in respect of the government’s PREVENT agenda (Preventing Violent Extremism); he was also Chairman of a National Taskforce looking at the effectiveness of prison drug treatment culminating in the publication of The Patel Report.

Lord Patel was appointed as Minister in the House of Lords Government’s Whip’s Office as front bench spokesperson for Communities and Local Government, Ministry of Justice, Cabinet Office and the Attorney General’s Office (2008 – 2009).