Elizabeth Jill Filkin
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(born 24 November 1940) is a British public functionary and former civil servant. She was the United Kingdom's
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is an officer of the British House of Commons. The work of the officer is overseen by the Commons Select Committee on Standards.
The current commissioner is Kathryn Stone.
Duties
The commissioner i ...
between February 1999 and 2002.
Born in
Keynsham
Keynsham ( ) is a town and civil parish located between Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. It has a population of 16,000.
It was listed in the Domesday Book as ''Cainesham'' (as it is pronounced), which is believed to mean the home of Sain ...
,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lor ...
, Filkin studied at
Clifton High School in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...
and
Birmingham University
The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...
, where she was awarded LLB in Law in 1973. She started her career as a lecturer and community worker at the
National Institute for Social Work The National Institute for Social Work Training was set up in 1961, following proposals put forward in the 1959 Eileen Younghusband report for an independent staff college for social work. Its initial funding was assured for ten years by the Nuffie ...
between 1968 and 1971. She then worked as community work services officer in the
London Borough of Brent
The London Borough of Brent () is a London borough in north-west London. It borders the boroughs of Harrow to the north-west, Barnet to the north-east, Camden to the east, the City of Westminster to the south-east, as well as the Royal Borough ...
(1971–75); lecturer in social studies at the
University of Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
(1975–83); chief executive, then director of community services at the National Association of
Citizens Advice Bureau
Citizens AdviceCitizens Advice is the operating name of The National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux which is the umbrella charity for a wider network of local advice centres. The abbreviation CitA is sometimes used to refer to this nation ...
x (1983–90); assistant chief executive, then revenue adjudicator at the
London Docklands Development Corporation
The London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) was a quango agency set up by the UK Government in 1981 to regenerate the depressed Docklands area of east London. During its seventeen-year existence it was responsible for regenerating an a ...
(1990–1995); and adjudicator at the
Inland Revenue
The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ...
, Customs and Excise and Contributions Agency (1995–99) before becoming
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is an officer of the British House of Commons. The work of the officer is overseen by the Commons Select Committee on Standards.
The current commissioner is Kathryn Stone.
Duties
The commissioner i ...
in February 1999.
Her departure was controversial. Many considered she had performed well and should not have had to reapply for the role when her three-year contract came up for renewal.
On 18 July 2011, it was announced that Elizabeth Filkin would lead an inquiry related to the
News International phone hacking scandal
The News International phone hacking scandal was a controversy involving the now-defunct ''News of the World'' and other British newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch. Employees of the newspaper were accused of engaging in phone hacking, police b ...
which would "recommend changes to links between the police and the media, including how to extend transparency." The report of the inquiry was published at the beginning of 2012.
Filkin was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(CBE) in the
2014 Birthday Honours
The 2014 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of ...
for public service.
References
Further reading
The Guardian, House of Commons Interviews The Guardian, House of Commons Politics
1940 births
British civil servants
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
English social workers
People from Keynsham
Living people
People educated at Clifton High School, Bristol
Alumni of the University of Birmingham
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