Dr Stephen Brien
Biography
Dr Stephen Brien was appointed as Chair of the Social Security Advisory Committee from 14 September 2020.
Stephen is passionate about finding solutions to reduce poverty and improve the lives of the most vulnerable in the UK.
From 2017 to 2023 Stephen was Director of Policy at the Legatum Institute. In addition to overseeing the Institute’s policy programmes, his research focused on the socio-economic drivers of prosperity around the world.
From 2015 to 2017, Stephen was an advisor to governments in both the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa. He has been a Director at Social Finance; and he also advised the UK Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) from 2010 to 2013.
Prior to joining DWP, Stephen spent 15 years at Oliver Wyman, where he was a Partner, and served a term as the head of its London Office. He is the author of Dynamic Benefits (the blueprint for Universal Credit) and Outcome-based Government.
Chair, SSAC
The chair of the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) leads a committee of members appointed by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to:
- give advice on social security issues as it sees fit
- consider and report on social security regulations that have been referred to it
- advise on matters referred to it by the Secretary of State or the Northern Ireland department responsible for social security
- scrutinise the products produced by the Department for Work and Pensions