Confirmed Speakers

We have a varied and wide-ranging speaker line up ranging from practitioners on the finance frontline of public services to commentators and experts offering insight on the route ahead.

Robert Chote
Bob Neill MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government
Bob Neill was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Communities and Local Government after the 2010 General Election. His ministerial responsibilities include fire and resilience, Thames Gateway and Olympics, local government and planning. Prior to entering Parliament in 2006 as the member for Bromley & Chislehurst, he was a seasoned local politician. He served on the GLC, representing Romford and served as a Councillor in the London Borough of Havering for 16 years, chairing the Environment and Social Services Committees. Following the creation of the GLA, he was the London Assembly Member for Bexley and Bromley, serving as Leader of the Greater London Authority's Conservative Group until June 2006.

Robert Chote
Director, Institute for Fiscal Studies
Robert has been Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies since October 2002. He is also a member of the Finance Committee of the University of Cambridge and the Advisory Board of the UK Centre for the Measurement of Government Activity at the Office for National Statistics. He is a Governor of the National Institute for Economic and Social Research.

Paul Dransfield
Corporate Director of Resources, Birmingham City Council
Paul’s areas of responsibility include corporate finance, internal audit, council tax, corporate procurement and customer services. He is a member of the CIPFA LASAAC joint committee and of the Society of Metropolitan Treasurers.

Paul Carter
Leader, Kent County Council

Nick Bell
Chief Executive, Staffordshire County Council

Bill Wilkinson
Chief Executive and Treasurer, South Yorkshire Police Authority & Chair of the CIPFA Police Panel

Mark Whyman
Deputy Chief Constable, Yorkshire and Humberside Police Authority