Inspirational Lancaster University professor recognised in King’s Birthday Honours

A Lancaster University professor, who has championed compassionate and effective services for women whose children are at risk of entering the care system, has received an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours.

Professor of Social Work Karen Broadhurst said she was delighted to receive the recognition awarded for her dedicated and high impact work in the field of child and family justice research.

“It is a privilege and reflects not only my work, but also the tireless commitment and collaboration of many colleagues, practitioners, and families with whom I have worked over the years,” said Professor Broadhurst.

“Our shared efforts to improve justice and care for children and families engaged with public services and the family justice system are more important than ever.

“I am also pleased that this honour highlights the vital role research, evidence, and the social sciences play in shaping a fairer society.”

With more than 20 years of experience of child and family justice research under her belt, Professor Broadhurst is renowned for her sustained, high-impact research that has helped to improve the lives of parents and children at the sharp-edge of children's services.

Her team produced the first national estimate of women’s vulnerability to repeat involvement in care proceedings and this programme of research catalysed major reforms in preventative services.

Professor Broadhurst then went on to design and lead the high-profile Born into Care research series, which uncovered the scale of care proceedings at birth, and raised major questions about women’s access to justice. This programme of research has raised awareness of breaches of women’s legal rights in the immediate postnatal period and improved the help that women with complex needs receive during pregnancy and following birth.

She currently leads the first large-scale UKRI Economic and Social Research Council-funded research study which is examining the impact of women’s cross-justice involvement (family and crime), and impact on mother-child relationships. The COMFT study (Child Outcomes for Mothers Facing Trial) is being carried out in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, Birth Companions and Swansea University.

Through her leadership, the Centre for Child and Family Justice Research at Lancaster University, founded by Professor Broadhurst in 2015, has become a nationally and internationally recognised collaborative hub for evidence-based policy and practice transformation, shaping how services are designed and delivered to better support vulnerable children and families.

Professor Broadhurst first joined the team at Lancaster in 2003 before taking up a role at Manchester University. She returned to Lancaster in 2015 and is the Discipline Lead for Social Work in Lancaster University’s newly established School of Social Sciences.

Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University Professor Andy Schofield said: “Professor Broadhurst’s work to improve the lives of vulnerable children and families is exemplary. Her research rigour coupled with her ability to build connections and leverage influence for the benefit of others is inspiring.

‘’Colleagues at Lancaster University will no doubt join me in congratulating her on her much-deserved success.”

Meanwhile, other local recipients of honours include a CBE for the Hon Lady Arabella Lennox-Boyd, for services to horticulture and to charity.

Arabella Lennox-Boyd is one of the leading landscape designers working in the UK, and since 1978 has lived with her family at Gresgarth Hall at Caton, where the stunning gardens are open the public at various times throughout the year.

She has been designing for over fifty years and has landscaped more than seven hundred gardens worldwide, including six Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal gardens, and Best of Show winner in 1998.

Her many commissions range from commercial projects, gardens open to the public, the Serpentine Sackler Gallery in Hyde Park, the Maggie’s Centre in Dundee and Airfield Garden and Farm in Dublin; small town gardens; large country estates, including the development of large-scale master plans and Mediterranean and tropical gardens around the world.

Lennox-Boyd was awarded the prestigious RHS Veitch Memorial Medal for her work in Horticulture, and an Honorary Doctorate of Design (HonDDes) from the University of Greenwich where she is also a member of The Assembly.

She received the International Prestige Prize Torsanlorenzo in recognition of her lifelong commitment to innovation in design and the prestigious Premio Firenze Donna prize for her outstanding achievements both as a landscape architect and as a businesswoman.

There is also a knighthood for Lancaster’s Stephen Watson QPM, the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, for services to Policing.

Sir Stephen Watson is amongst the most experience senior officers in the country, having joined Lancashire Constabulary in 1988; moving on to roles in Merseyside Police, The Metropolitan Police, Durham Constabulary and South Yorkshire Police which, during his tenure as Chief Constable, became the most improved force in the country for three consecutive years.

As Chief Constable of Greater Manchester since 2021, Sir Stephen has led the second largest force in the country through one of the most rapid and wide-ranging transformations in British policing history - reducing crime by 7.2%, increasing the number of crimes solved by 70% and delivering sector-leading response times.

Sir Stephen Watson said: “I was delighted and humbled in equal measure on learning that I was to receive an honour from HM The King.

“I am immensely grateful to my wife and family for their unstinting support; they have willingly made innumerable sacrifices over many years, as is the case for so many police families.

“My own good fortune only arises because of the guidance, support and confidence provided to me by a great number of excellent colleagues over a long career.

“It has been the privilege of my life to work amongst the extraordinary officers and staff of Greater Manchester Police and in several other forces across our country.

"My honour is reflective of their sustained determination, decency and effectiveness in the service of the public."