David Geoffrey Nigel Filkin, Baron Filkin, (born 1 July 1944) is a British Labour politician.

Career

Filkin was educated at King Edward VI Five Ways School, Birmingham, and Clare College, Cambridge, where he read history. His early career was as a Director of Housing and then Chief Executive in Local Government. He was Chief Executive of the Association of District Councils, representing local authorities to government, promoting the foundation of the

Local Government Association The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local authorities. Its core membership is made up of 339 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the Welsh Local Government Association. The LGA is p ...

and creating ''Best Value'', the policy for sourcing in local government. Later he was a policy analyst and writer, contributing to the development of Labour's policies for local and regional government. In 2000 he led the Prime Minister's Review of local government and subsequently was a government minister for four years.

Parliamentary career

Filkin, having been appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the

1997 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1997 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

, was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as Baron Filkin, of

Pimlico Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by London V ...

in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...

, on 29 July 1999. In 2000, with Simon Over, he founded the Parliament Choir, which gathers members of both Houses of Parliament and Parliamentary Staff. He has held a number of Government offices, first as Lord in Waiting (junior Whip) from June 2001 to May 2002, then as Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department from May 2002 until June 2003, and then as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Departments for Constitutional Affairs (June 2003 to September 2004) and Education and Skills (September 2004 to May 2005). He founded the Public Services Research Group which published Public Matters, a critical review of Labour's public service reforms and in 2008 he founded and chaired the charity, 2020 Public Services Trust. Its Commission into Public Services in 2020 reported in 2010. He led the report, Commissioning for Outcomes, proposing and explaining the policy of paying for results. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Purchasing and Supply. He founded the Parliament Choir in 2000, chaired the Committee on Statutory Instruments from 2005 to 2010 and proposed and then chaired the Lords Select Committee on Public Services and Demographic Change. Its report, Ready for Ageing? was published in March 2013. Geoffrey Filkin was Chair of the House of Lords Select Committee on Public Service and Democratic Change which published a report on "Ready for Ageing?". Upon being appointed chair of the Big Lottery Fund's Centre for Ageing Better in November 2013, Filkin set aside the Labour whip, choosing to sit as a non-affiliated peer. Upon his resignation from the charity's chairmanship in 2018, Filkin returned to the Labour whip in January 2019.

References

External links

They Work For You record of Lord Filkin's contributions in Parliament

Houses of Parliament biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Filkin, Geoffrey Filkin, Baron 1944 births Living people Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Labour Party (UK) life peers Government ministers of the United Kingdom Life peers created by Elizabeth II