BFWG Westminster Seminar

Seminar only £20. Seminar and afternoon tea £50

THE SEMINAR

This event promises to be, as in previous years, an interesting and very special event for BFWG members.  We are most grateful to Baroness Morris of Yardley who has kindly agreed to host the event for us.

The Seminar will take place in Committee Room G from 2 – 3.15 pm.

Our speakers are Dame Professor Lesley Regan and Elly Brockbank.  Read more about them below.

There will be time for Q & A after their talks.

The Seminar will be followed by a traditional Afternoon Tea in the Atlee and Reid rooms from 3.30 – 5 pm.  Before the event we will be asking you if you have any special dietary requirements.  There will be an opportunity to visit the House of Lords’ souvenir shop before leaving the Palace of Westminster. 

Our Host: Baroness Morris of Yardley

Photo credit: © House of Lords / photography by Roger Harris

Estelle Morris, Baroness Morris of Yardley, PC, is a British politician and life peer who served as Secretary of State for Education and Skills from 2001 to 2002. A member of the Labour Party, she was Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Yardley from 1992 to 2005.

Since 2007 Baroness Morris has been chair of the executive group of the Institute for Effective Education at the University of York. She is the chair of the medical charity APS Support UK, which researches antiphospholipid syndrome, and was patron of Hanover Foundations.

Speakers
Dame Professor Lesley Regan

Dame Lesley Regan DBE is a British gynaecologist, professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Imperial College London and Honorary Consultant at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust at St Mary’s Hospital. She was the president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists from 2016 to 2019 – at the time she was only the second woman to ever hold this role and the first in sixty-four years.

In 2020, she became the chair of Wellbeing of Women.

In 2022, Dame Lesley was appointed as the Government’s first ever Women’s Health Ambassador for England.

Professor Regan is the first woman to hold a chair on obstetrics and gynaecology in the country and for the past decades she has worked to establish the biggest miscarriage clinic in the world.

Elly Brockbank, MRCOG MD

Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist,
Head of Department, Gynaecological Oncology, Barts Health NHS Trust 

Elly Brockbank is a consultant gynaecological oncologist at the Royal London Hospital and a leading figure in expanding robotic surgery and improving ovarian cancer outcomes within Barts Health NHS Trust.

Her work is described as both compassionate and innovative, with a strong emphasis on improving patient outcomes.  Under her leadership, her team achieved the best one-year ovarian cancer survival rates in England.

Elly Brockbank is a key advocate and practitioner of robotic minimally invasive surgery.  She has helped to spearhead the robotic surgery programme at Barts Health, securing funding for new equipment that benefits multiple specialities.

At the 2025 Barts Health Heros Awards she won the WeLead Award recognising her leadership, innovation and impact on patient care.

IMPORTANT NOTES

Members may know from previous years that there are a limited number of places available for this event, usually around 40 depending on how many wheelchair users attend.

To reserve a place we are asking for payment at the same time as booking.  This is because all event costs due to the House of Lords have to be paid in advance and are non-refundable.

Should you have to cancel, we will do our best to help you to find another member who might wish to attend in your place. 

The buttons above are self-explanatory.  Please read the instructions and then register and pay online.  The system will tell you if places are still available before you make your payment.  If possible we ask you to pay by BACS to save BFWG the transactions fees levied by PayPal on card payments.

If you are unable register on-line, please email kateirving56@gmail.com as soon as possible. If places are available, we will reserve one for you and allow a reasonable length of time for your booking form and cheque payment to arrive by post. Please write Initial/Surname/WS26 on the back. Post your cheque to: BFWG (Westminster Seminar), PO Box 1225, Whitstable, Kent, CT5 9EA.

 TRAVEL TO THE PALACE OF WESTMINSTER SW1A 0PW

The nearest underground station to the Palace of Westminster is Westminster, which is on the District, Circle and Jubilee lines. Victoria Tower Garden Entrance, where we will meet, is 7 – 10 minutes’ walk from the station.

ON ARRIVAL  

On arrival at Victoria Tower Garden entrance, all visitors need to go through a security system, similar to that at an airport. You will need to have photo ID – a passport or UK photo driving licence. Please check that your ID will still be current on 20th October 2026.

The security checks will take a minimum of 30 minutes, so please meet at Victoria Tower Garden entrance by 1.15 pm at the latest.  BFWG members will be there to greet you. We will need to queue up to be admitted, so you must be comfortable to stand for some time, should it be necessary.

Please note that you cannot bring large items of luggage into the Palace of Westminster, so suitcases etc., will need to be left elsewhere if you are staying in London overnight. The maxium capacity of the security scanner is 56 x 45 x 25 cm (22 x 17.5 x 5.5 in).

There is wheelchair access to the rooms we are using. If you are a wheelchair user and need someone to accompany you, please contact Ann Scott annscott100@btinternet.com. 

Any questions, please don’t hesitate to email kateirving56@gmail.com.