PLMR Strengthens its Health and Social Care Advisory Board with Two More Senior Appointments

Former Andy Burnham special adviser Jennifer Gerber and former Department of Health and Social Care Director of Communications James Sorene join a growing advisory board that already includes Leon Emirali, David Brindle and Noel Gordon.

PLMR , the B Corp-certified PR, media relations and public affairs consultancy specialising in the health and social care sector, has strengthened its advisory board with the appointments of Jennifer Gerber as Senior Political Adviser and James Sorene as Strategic Advisor. Between them, they bring first-hand experience of the Treasury, Downing Street, and the Department of Health and Social Care to PLMR’s work with care providers, health organisations and the bodies that represent them.

Jennifer has spent more than 20 years in Labour politics at Westminster. During the last Labour government she was Special Adviser to Andy Burnham, now Prime Minister, across three cabinet portfolios: HM Treasury, the Department of Health – including working on Burnham’s first attempt to deliver a National Care Service – and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. More recently she advised NHS trusts through the Covid-19 pandemic and led Labour’s Friends of Israel for ten years.

James was Director of Communications at the Department of Health and Social Care from 2021 to 2023, where he played a leading role in communications for the Covid-19 vaccine rollout. He went on to lead a team of 90 as Director of Communications at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Earlier in his career he was official spokesman and Head of Communications to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg during the Coalition Government.

Both will advise PLMR’s clients across adult social care, independent healthcare, and the wider health sector as the government takes forward its reform plans, including the work of the Casey Commission on adult social care.

Nathan Hollow, Group Director and Head of Health and Social Care at PLMR, said: “Health and social care is moving faster politically than at any point in the 15 years I’ve worked in the sector. A new Prime Minister, an accelerated Casey Commission, the planned abolition of NHS England, and transformative changes to care workers’ rights all mean the organisations we work with need advice from people who have sat in the rooms where these decisions are being made. Jen and James have done exactly that. Alongside our existing advisory team, they give our clients advisers who know Downing Street, Whitehall, the NHS, national media, and the care sector from the inside, and I’m delighted to welcome them both.”

Jennifer Gerber, Senior Political Adviser at PLMR, said: “I am incredibly excited to have joined PLMR, an agency I have long admired. Few areas matter more to this government than health and social care, and I look forward to helping PLMR’s clients in the sector understand the new Burnham government and what it could mean for them, bringing my experience in government to a brilliant roster of clients.”

James Sorene, Strategic Advisor at PLMR, said: “Health is one of the few parts of government where a minister’s decision can travel all the way down to a local service, but a lot can be diluted or lost along the way. Organisations that understand how the system works, and engage ministers and officials early with a clear ask, have a real chance to shape what happens. I’m looking forward to helping PLMR’s clients do exactly that.”

Jennifer and James join PLMR’s existing advisers Leon Emirali, David Brindle and Noel Gordon.

Leon, PLMR’s Senior Counsel, was an adviser to Steve Barclay MP when he was Health Secretary, Brexit Secretary and Chief Secretary to the Treasury. He leads PLMR’s media training and is a regular political commentator for the BBC, Sky News, The Times and The Telegraph.

David is one of the best-known commentators on social care, with more than 30 years in the sector as a journalist and non-executive, including as Public Services Editor at the Guardian. He advises the Centre for Care and is chairing an initiative to find a new generation of leaders for the care sector.

Noel chaired NHS Digital from 2014 to 2021, sat on the board of NHS England and chaired Healthcare UK. Prior to joining NHS Digital, Noel had a successful career in financial services and banking transformation programmes.