4 January 2011
Tony Redmond, former chair of the Commission for Local Administration in England and local government ombudsman, has been knighted in the latest round of honours.
Redmond, who takes over as CIPFA vice president in July, received the honour in recognition of his services to local government.
He told Public Finance that he was ‘delighted’ with the honour, which came as a ‘total surprise’.
He said: ‘I’m very appreciative of the honour, but also very conscious of all the people who have been working around me for the past 40 years, and I know that the public service has got many talented people who work very hard. I’m humbled by [the knighthood] in many ways because there are so many others that actually give so much to public service.’
The New Year Honours list, issued on December 31, included recognition for CIPFA members in a range of different fields.
Mark Lowcock, director general for country programmes at the Department for International Development, was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath.
Former Deloitte partner Ken Wild received an OBE for his services to financial reporting. Wild headed Deloitte’s International Financial Reporting Standards team for ten years and sat on various influential financial reporting boards and committees including the Treasury’s Financial Reporting Advisory Board. He also served as chair of Accounting Standards Board’s public sector and not-for-profit committee.
There was an MBE for David Brindle, director of resources at Lancashire Constabulary, for services to the police. John Benington, emeritus professor of public policy and management at Warwick Business School, received the CBE.
Other senior public servants honoured included: Andrew Goudie, chief economic adviser to the Scottish Government; Nigel Smith, former chief executive of the Office for Government Commerce; and Una O’Brien, former director general for policy and strategy at the Department of Health. All were made Companions of the Order of the Bath.
In local government, Donna Hall, chief executive of both Chorley and Wyre borough councils, received a CBE. There were also OBEs for Colin Carmichael, chief executive of Canterbury Council, and Thomas McCall, clerk and chief executive of Newry and Mourne District Council in Northern Ireland.
In the health service, there was a knighthood for Ronald Kerr, chief executive of Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and a CBE for Ian Dalton, chief executive of the North East Strategic Health Authority.
There were also OBEs for Robert Hughes, former inward investment manager at the Welsh Assembly Government's Department for Economy and Transport, and for Tom Davies, Welsh
commissioner of the Independent Police Complaints Commission in Wales, in recognition of his five-decade career in the public services.
Stephen Bubb, chief executive of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations, was knighted for services to the voluntary sector.
The government highlighted the Big Society character of the honours list, pointing out that many of those honoured had been recognised for making a difference to their local communities through volunteering, fundraising and philanthropy.