Lord Freud

Lord Freud is the Minister for Welfare Reform for the Department for Work and Pensions, where his responsibilities include the introduction of Universal Credit, fraud and error, and housing benefit reform.

He was appointed the shadow Minister for Welfare Reform in February 2009, after acting as adviser to the welfare reform to the UK Government and the publication of his independent report in March 2007 on the Welfare to Work system.

From 2005 to 2008, he was the CEO of The Portland Trust and remains a trustee and director of the not-for-profit foundation, whose mission is to encourage peace and stability between Israelis and Palestinians through economic means. He was Vice Chairman of Investment Banking for UBS and Global Head of Transport/Leisure/Business Services, retiring in 2003. Prior to his banking career, he was a journalist at the Financial Times for eight years, four of which were spent writing the Lex column.