Caroline is Chair of the Humber Teaching NHS FT and also chairs the Government’s Advisory Committee on Fuel Poverty.

A regular commentator on current affairs, Caroline was elected as the first woman MP for the Don Valley constituency, 1997- 2019.

She served as Minister in five departments during the Blair/Brown Governments, namely: Home Office, Health, Work and Pensions, Communities and Local Government and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. As Housing, and then Europe Minister, she attended Cabinet.

In opposition she was Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government followed by Shadow Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change.   From 2015-19 she served on the Public Accounts Committee and on the Intelligence and Security Committee 2017-2019.

Caroline supports projects promoting manufacturing and getting to net zero and sits on the Advisory Board of the Reform thinktank. She is a consultant adviser to several companies offering advice and training.