Ruth Runciman

Who is Ruth Runciman?

Dame Ruth Runciman DBE is a former Chair of the UK Mental Health Act Commission.

She is the mother of British political scientist David Runciman, and as wife of British sociologist Garry Runciman has the right to the title of Viscountess Runciman of Doxford, which she does not use. She has had over thirty years' involvement in the Citizens Advice Bureau and has also made a significant contribution to work on drug misuse, for which she was awarded the OBE in 1991.

Ruth Runciman was an early trustee of the National AIDS Trust and served as its Chair from 2000 to 2006. She has always had a special interest in prison issues and was a founder of the Prison Reform Trust in 1981. She was responsible for setting up a full-time Citizens' Advice Bureau in Wormwood Scrubs, the first full-time independent advice agency in any prison. She is also a Trustee of the Pilgrim Trust. The University of Central Lancashire conferred an Honorary Fellowship on Dame Ruth Runciman at an Awards Ceremony on 5 December 2000.

She was Chair of Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust for more than ten years, retiring at the end of 2013.