The catalogue of the papers of Beatrice Serota (1919-2002), politician, has now been completed and is available online through the Archives catalogue|. The collection includes papers on the wide range of issues with which Serota was involved, and is a valuable resource for all those interested in post-war social reform in the UK.
Serota's political career began in 1945 with her election as a Labour candidate to the Hampstead borough council, but it was her work on the London County Council (LCC) which laid the foundations of her political reputation. Serota chaired the Children's Committee from 1958 until the LCC was abolished in 1965. Elected to the Greater London Council (GLC) which succeeded it, she became Labour chief whip. Her record in local government, and particularly her work for children, led to Serota becoming a peer following her defeat in the GLC elections in 1967. It was from the House of Lords that Serota was appointed Minister of State for Health in 1969, working for Richard Crossman. But her ministerial career was brief, ended by the Labour government's defeat in 1970.
Serota was a respected member of a number of advisory bodies and committees. Her participation was sought for her diligence and expertise on a range of social issues, notably child welfare, healthcare, voluntary work, and penal policy. While working in local government in the 1950s and 1960s, Serota had also served on the Advisory Council on Child Care, the Longford committee on crime, as well as on the short-lived Royal Commission on the Penal System and the Advisory Council on the Penal System which followed it. After 1970, Serota served on the Community Relations Commission from 1970 to 1976, and chaired the newly established Commission for Local Administration from 1974 to 1982. She had an active career in the House of Lords, serving on the Select Committee on the European Communities. Numerous charities and voluntary organisations also benefited from her support, up until her death in 2002.
The collection includes correspondence, speeches, reports and publications. It covers Serota's career in local government, as a minister and member of the House of Lords, and also her work for a number of advisory bodies and other organisations. It includes:
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Papers relating to advisory bodies on the penal system. There is material on the Royal Commission on the Penal System and its dissolution in 1966, and on Serota's work for the Advisory Council on the Penal System and the preparation of its reports. There is also material on the Advisory Mission on the Treatment of Offenders, to both the Caribbean and the Pacific (SEROTA/2).
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Papers regarding the Commission on Local Administration. There is material on the work of the Commission on Local Administration, which established the local ombudsman service in England and Wales, as well as on a number of international ombudsman conferences (SEROTA/3).
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Papers regarding Serota's work as Minister of State for Health, 1969-1970, including a number of speeches made by Serota (SEROTA/4).
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Papers relating to Serota's work in the House of Lords. This includes a range of material, covering Serota's participation in debates in the House of Lords on a number of issues, including healthcare and the reform of the House of Lords. There is also material on her work on the Select Committee on the European Communities (SEROTA/5).
For further information about the papers at LSE Archives see the Guide to Holdings| or contact us: Contact details|