Beatrice Katz was brought up in the East End of London, the daughter of Jewish refugees from central Europe.

[citation needed] She joined the Civil Service in 1941 and worked in the crucial Ministry of Fuel and Power through the difficult years of the Second World War until 1946.

[citation needed] Harold Wilson appointed her as a Government Whip almost immediately and then proposed her for the sensitive post of deputy to Richard Crossman, having refused to promote Roy Hattersley, whom he suspected of disloyalty.

It was her distinguished career in local government and the work that she did for children which brought her the recognition of a seat in the House of Lords as a recognised authority on the subject.

[citation needed] Serota was educated at John Howard Grammar School for Girls[1] and at the LSE, where she read economics and in 1976 she became an honorary fellow.