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Co-Chairs of the APPG for Flexible and Family-Friendly Working

Sarah Russell MP, Chair

Sarah Russell is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Congleton since 2024.

She studied politics at the University of York, graduating in 2004. She then completed the Graduate Diploma in Law and Bar Vocational Course at BPP University, as well as a Masters of Law at King’s College London.

While working as a paralegal at Pattinson & Brewer in London, she cross-qualified as a solicitor, developing a practice in employment law, and then worked for several years at Slater & Gordon before moving to Fox Whitfield and Rebel Law Ltd to work as a consultant solicitor.

Sarah has also worked as a supervising solicitor at the Equality and Employment Law Centre.

Greater availability of flexible and family friendly working would change many parents’ and carers’ lives, promote equality, and boost our economy through greater workforce participation. 

I’m so pleased to be chairing this APPG and working cross party to create a society where careers and caring responsibilities are not mutually exclusive. The APPG underscores the cross-party commitment to advancing policies that support parents and carers across the UK.

Baroness Penn, Co-Chair

Baroness Penn was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 14 November 2023. She was appointed a Minister on leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State) on 1 March 2024, whilst she is on maternity leave.

She was previously Treasury Lords Minister in the UK Government from 30 October 2022 to 14 November 2023, and Baroness in Waiting (Government whip) from 19 March 2020 to 20 September 2022.

She previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Theresa May from 2016 to 2019 and became the youngest member of the House of Lords when she joined the House on 21 October 2019. From 29 October 2019 to 21 April 2020, she was a member of the Lord’s Science and Technology Committee.

The APPG is a fantastic opportunity to bring together voices from across the political, business and non-profit spheres to work towards tangible change in the workplace so that they reflect the realities of managing modern family life.

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