Richard Exell OBE works for the Trades Union Congress, where he is a senior labour market economist. He has written a number of TUC publications, including The Costs of Unemployment (http://www.tuc.org.uk/extras/costsofunemployment.pdf) and The Future Jobs Fund (http://www.tuc.org.uk/welfare/tuc-17271-f0.cfm).

Richard is a member of the statutory Industrial Injuries Advisory Council and was the UK member of the trade union team that negotiated the European Directive on parental leave. Richard is 53 years old, a graduate of Bristol University, and is married with a daughter, Madeleine, aged 17. Richard blogs at touchstoneblog.org.uk