Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 19, 2026

Saul Becker

Saul Becker is a British academic and social scientist known for his work on young carers, with Carers Trust and Caring Together Charity describing him as a world leader in the field. He is an author and editor of 18 books, including Young Carers and their Families and Responding to Poverty. He is currently the Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the Faculty of Health and Education of Manchester Metropolitan University, and Founding Director of the Institute for Children's Futures. In 2025 Becker was appointed Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of Greater Manchester and is a trustee of various charities including the Manchester United Foundation.

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Saul Becker
Known forResearch on Young Carers, Social Work and Social Policy
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Nottingham
Academic work
DisciplineSocial Work, Social Policy, Children and Childhood
InstitutionsManchester Metropolitan University

Saul Becker FAcSS FRSA DL is a British academic and social scientist known for his work on young carers, with Carers Trust and Caring Together Charity describing him as a world leader in the field.12 He is an author and editor of 18 books, including Young Carers and their Families and Responding to Poverty.3 He is currently (since 2023) the Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the Faculty of Health and Education of Manchester Metropolitan University, and Founding Director of the Institute for Children's Futures.4 In 2025 Becker was appointed Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of Greater Manchester5 and is a trustee of various charities including the Manchester United Foundation.6

Early life and education

Becker is a former pupil of Rossall School and a graduate of the University of Nottingham: BA (1981); MA (1983); and PhD (1987). His Doctorate was on the relationships between poverty and the use of social services. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) and the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and is a Registered Social Worker (RSW) with Social Work England.7 He has practiced as a local authority social worker and senior welfare rights officer before becoming a full-time academic.

Career

In May 2022, Becker was appointed Professor of Children and Families at Manchester Metropolitan University.8 Previous posts held include: Director of Research & Andrew and Virginia Rudd Professor of Social Care Research and Education Practice, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge; Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sussex, UK.;9 Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Social Sciences, University of Birmingham;10 Assistant Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Internationalisation), University of Nottingham; Head of the School of Social Policy and Sociology, University of Nottingham; Director of Research, Institute of Applied Social Studies, University of Birmingham; Co-Founder and Associate Director, Centre for Child and Family Research, Loughborough University.

Becker has served as Principal Investigator on 56 externally funded research projects.11

His research impact has been recognised by the UK-wide charity Carers Trust which appointed him as their first-ever Ambassador,12 AccessHE which recognised him as a Role Model13 and Universities UK which named his as one of the Nation's Lifesavers.14

He was a member of the UK Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 Social Work and Social Policy Sub-panel 22.15

Publications

Becker has published over 350 works, including 18 books, and has presented over 250 conference papers.16

He was also the chair of the UK Social Policy Association and the founding series editor for the Policy Press Understanding Welfare book series. He and his work have featured in 9 television documentaries17 and hundreds of radio broadcasts. He was interviewed by Andrew Marr (2020)18 and Will Hutton (2024)19 on young carers, and the future of care in Britain. In 2025 Becker was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Greater Manchester20 and is a trustee of various charities including the Manchester United Foundation.21

References

References

  1. "Carers Trust appoints world-leading young carers' researcher as its first-ever Ambassador". Carers Trust. 23 October 2020. Archived from the original on 17 November 2025. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  2. "Ground-breaking new alliance to bring change for young carers and young adult carers". Caring Together Charity. 11 March 2022. Archived from the original on 10 August 2025. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  3. "Saul Becker".
  4. "Institute for Children's Futures".
  5. "Serving Deputy Lieutenants of Greater Manchester".
  6. "Manchester United Foundation Board".
  7. Saul Becker (1997). Responding to Poverty: The Politics of Cash and Care. ISBN 9780582243224.
  8. "Internationally renowned children, care and caring expert to join Manchester Met". 17 May 2022.
  9. "Saul Becker: mental health advocate, cake enthusiast and your new Deputy VC". The Badger Online. 11 December 2017.
  10. "Saul Becker". 18 February 2016.
  11. "Professor Saul Becker joins University of Sussex as Deputy Vice-Chancellor : Broadcast: News items : University of Sussex". www.sussex.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 8 December 2017.
  12. "Carers Trust appoints world-leading young carers' researcher as its first-ever Ambassador". 2014 Carers Trust. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  13. "Next up, we're looking at role models more broadly". 2014 AccessHE. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  14. "Provost named among Nation's Lifesavers". 2014 Universities UK. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  15. "Sub-Panel 3" (PDF). 2014 Research Excellence Framework. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  16. "Professor Saul Becker: Provost : Our leadership : ... : About us : University of Sussex".
  17. "Professor Saul Becker". Manchester Metropolitan University. Archived from the original on 28 January 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  18. "Andrew Marr".
  19. "Will Hutton".
  20. "Serving Deputy Lieutenants of Greater Manchester".
  21. "Manchester United Foundation Board".