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Ballymena Belfast Craigavon Enniskillen Londonderry Omagh
This meeting is to be held at Tower Hotel Londonderry on the 29th April 2003.
Brian was Chief Executive and Town Clerk of Belfast City Council, Northern Ireland’s largest district council, from 1994 to 2002.
He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and in January 2002 became its National President. Brian is also a member of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives, a member of the National Society for Clean Air and also the United Kingdom Sustainable Development Commission. He was awarded CBE in the 2000 New Years Honour’s list, invited to become a Companion of the Institute of Management in 2001 and in that same year given an honorary degree, a Doctor of Science (Econ), by Queen’s University Belfast.
Professor Alan Alexander, Chair of Scottish Water (since April 2002), and Chairman of West of Scotland Water (1999-2002) retired from the Chair of Local and Public Management at the Strathclyde Business School, University of Strathclyde in July 2000. He is now Emeritus Professor.
As Chair, Professor Alexander has responsibility for the strategic leadership of Scottish Water, for ensuring the creation of a new and efficient water utility and for demonstrating the effectiveness of a new public sector model for the water industry in Scotland. The operating environment will be one in which the Water Industry Commissioner’s recommendation (accepted by Scottish Ministers) of very challenging targets for the reduction of operating costs and the achievement of major efficiencies in Scottish Water’s huge capital programme will have to be met if the public sector model is to be successful.
Professor Alexander is author of Local Government in Britain Since Reorganisation (1982), The Politics of Local Government in the United Kingdom (1982), Borough Government and Politics: Reading 1835-1985 (1985), Managing the Fragmented Authority (written jointly with Kevin Orr, 1994), of a Fabian Pamphlet, Managing Local Socialism (1986) and many articles in academic journals.
He has been a leading member of two local authorities and he served on the Board of the Housing Corporation from 1977 to 1980. In 1992 he was the sole academic member of The Scottish Office Working Party on the Internal Management of Local Authorities.
In 1998-1999 he was a member of the Commission on Local Government and the Scottish Parliament (The McIntosh Commission)
He has been appointed as a member of the Accounts Commission for Scotland with effect from October 2002.
Alan Walker is Head of Consumer Affairs at the General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland. He has been with the Consumer Council since 1995 having previously been responsible for the Council’s complaint handling responsibilities in coal, gas and transport and later taking the lead on the Council’s transport policy.
Alan has wide experience of representing the consumer interest across a range of areas including food, transport, energy and regulatory policy. He has authored or co-authored a number of General Consumer Council publications including:
He has also given evidence on behalf of the General Consumer Council to the Environment Committee and the Regional Development Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly and also to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee.
A native of Omagh, E McLaughlin was appointed to a newly established Chair in Social Policy at Queen’s University Belfast 1995. She had previously held posts at Queen’s and at the University of York. Her current research is on poverty, equality and disadvantage. The Northern Ireland Poverty and Social Exclusion Survey (2002-2003): the Republic of Ireland’s Living in Ireland Surveys and recent similar work in New Zealand to provide data on the prevalence and effects of poverty North/South and East/West in the British Isles and within Northern Ireland between the various social groups identified under legislation. The first results of the Survey should be available early in 2003.
Professor McLaughlin is the author to date of 60 books, reports and academic papers dealing with various aspects of social economics and social policy.
Professor McLaughlin has participated in four major policy reviews
She has also been the Northern Ireland Member of the UK Social Security Advisory Committee since 1994.
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND PERSONNEL
David is Treasury Officer of Accounts in the Department of Finance and Personnel. He is directly accountable for promoting and overseeing the systems which underpin value for money and Assembly/Parliamentary accountability and is responsible to PAC for the discharge of DFP Supply/Value for Money responsibilities in respect of all departmental expenditure.
David is a chartered accountant, who has previously worked in the Industrial Development Board, the then Department of Economic Development and the Department of the Environment.
WATER SERVICE
John Kelly is Acting Chief Executive of Water Service and is a Chartered Civil Engineer by profession. He has had over 35 years experience in the Water Industry in Northern Ireland, both prior to the reorganisation of local government, and in the 30 years since. His experience has ranged across design, construction and operations management. During his recent 11 years as Director of Operations he fostered a more customer orientated delivery of service, including the creation of customer service units in 4 Water Service geographical Divisions.
DEPARTMENT FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Jackie is Director of Infrastructure Funding in the Department for Regional Development, and is Head of the Water Reform Unit. Jackie has been involved in the development of strategic policy on water and sewerage issues since moving to the former Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland in 1999.
Jackie is a professionally qualified accountant (CIPFA), who has previously worked in the Department of Finance and Personnel, Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Health and Social Services.
