Who are we?

The Steering Committee

We are a group of individuals who share the view that something must be done to address the chronic mis-match between the cost of mental illness and the funding for mental health research.

We have a steering group which consists of:

1. Professor Clair Chilvers , Chair of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust and former Director of the Mental Health Research and Development Portfolio for the Department of Health
2. Dr Laura Davidson , a barrister specialising in mental health and human rights law
3. Professor David Porteous , Professor of Human Molecular Genetics & Medicine, University of Edinburgh
4. David Pugh , of Robertson Pugh & Co, Hon Treasurer

Clair Chilvers and Laura Davidson are the Trustees of the charity Mental Health Research UK.

Biographies of the Trustees

John Grace QC, L.L.B was called to the Bar in 1973 and appointed Queen's Counsel in 1994, and was Head of his chambers from 2000 to 2007. His work has for over 20 years exclusively related to all aspects of medicine, medical law and practice. He represents patients, NHS Trusts and all the Medical Defence Organisations in clinical negligence and disciplinary cases, and has wide experience of medical ethical cases, such as applications to the High Court for declarations in relation to mentally incapacitated patients and judicial review in relation to medical treatment. He also has experience of mental health law.
He has been since 1999 Consultant Editor of Lloyd's Law Reports Medical, has been a member of, and has chaired, various Bar Council committees and working groups, and was the Bar Council representative on the Lord Chancellor's Department Clinical Negligence Working Group. He has a close family member who suffers from severe mental illness, to whom he is the nearest relative under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Professor Clair Chilvers DSc DL is Chair of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust one of the largest providers of mental health and learning disability services in England. She was formally Director of the Mental Health Research and Development Portfolio at the Department of Health. She was Director of the National Forensic Mental Health R&D Programme.
Previously she was Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Nottingham and from 1996 was Dean of the Graduate School. She was a member of the Department of Health Committee on Carcinogenicity of Food, Consumer Products, and the Environment from 1993 to 2000 and a member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution from 1994 to 1998. She is a Trustee of the LloydsTSB Foundation and a Deputy Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire.

Dr. Laura Davidson is a barrister with a Ph.D in mental health law and human rights who is part of the public law team at No. 5 Chambers, practising from its London office of (www.no5.com). Her work involves all aspects of medical law, including clinical negligence, mental health law and Mental Capacity Act cases involving best interests. She has vast experience of complex mental health review tribunal hearings (usually involving restricted patients), and judicial review and habeas corpus applications relating to those detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. During her time as an academic she taught law to Cambridge undergraduates, and she continues to lecture widely at home and abroad.
She regularly publishes articles in legal journals and in recent years she has contributed four chapters to two books. In 2001, she won the International Academy of Law and Mental Health's inaugural Annual Junior Scholar Award, in recognition of distinguished contribution to Scholarship in law and psychiatry.

David Pugh is a taxation consultant specialising in all aspects of personal taxation. He began his career with the Inland Revenue in 1965 before joining Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co in 1970. He became assistant tax manager in the personal tax department in 1981. In 1987 the firm joined forces in the first mega-merger of larger accountancy firms and formed Peat Marwick McLintock before being renamed KPMG in 1995.
In 1996 after nearly 27 years he was asked to become the personal tax manager of the Nottingham office of Neville Russell later to become Mazars a position he held until setting up his own practice Robertson Pugh & Co in 2008 at the age of 60 despite also being actively involved on a day to day basis in an investment property business. Robertson Pugh & Co is already well established with an extremely diverse range of clients including high net worth individuals, family owned businesses, non residents and trusts.
His work has for over 45 years related to all aspects of personal taxation but he also has a wide experience of probate work and acts as an Attorney for many Enduring Power of Attorney cases.