Lord Archie Kirkwood
Former chair, Work & Pension Committee

Archy Kirkwood was MP for Roxburgh and Berwickshire for 22 years, standing down
at the May 2005 General Election. First elected in June 1983, he became the Liberal Party’s spokesman on Health, Social Services and Social Security. In 1992, he became the Chief Whip of the Liberal Democrat parliamentary party. In 1997 Archy became Chair of the Social Security Select Committee (now Work & Pension Committee).

He served on the House of Commons Audit Committee and on the House of Commons Commission and was knighted in 2003 for services to Parliament. Archy was made a life peer in 2005. He is currently head of external relations at the office of the Liberal Democrat Leader.

Professor Roy Sainsbury
Research Director, Social Security and Living Standards Team
University of York

Roy Sainsbury is Professor of Social Policy in the Social Policy Research Unit at the University of York. Over the past 20 years he has carried out research, for government and other funders in the area of benefits, employment and sickness and disability.

He has been involved in the evaluation of welfare to work initiatives such as Pathways to Work and has recently written (with Kate Stanley of ippr) on the long-term reform of social security. In 2007 he acted as Specialist Adviser to the House of Commons Select Committee on Work and Pensions on their inquiry into benefit simplification.

Phil Bartlett
Director, Employment and Support Allowance Programme
Jobcentre Plus

A passionate customer champion Phil has 30+ years experience in large public sector organisations of service delivery through operational management, business administration and change management. Phil enjoys working within Government to build opportunities in service of the customer both now and in the future.

At corporate leadership level Phil has substantial and wide-ranging experience of directing public sector business and delivering large-scale projects and enterprise level strategic transformation change programmes.

From 2000 to 2002 Phil was an executive member of the Benefits Agency Board holding the post of Business and Change Management Director. In 2002 Phil was appointed to the role of Performance Director becoming an executive member of The Pension Service Management Board.

Since 2006 Phil has directed the Employment and Support Allowance Programme for Jobcentre Plus and is a member of the Executive Team.

Alan Markey
Head of Welfare Benefits
Citizens Advice Bureau

Alan Markey has been Head of the Welfare Benefits Team at Citizens Advice Specialist Support since September 2003. His team provides second-tier consultancy support to CAB in England & Wales along with the development and delivery of a national training programme.

Alan is also editor of ‘Adviser’, a subscription-based magazine offering in-depth coverage of key issues in social welfare law, and chair of the National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers (NAWRA).

Previously he managed an independent advice centre in Coventry and was a Welfare Rights Adviser in Sunderland for 10 years. He spends his spare time with music, film, travel and Sunderland football club.

Paul Treloar
Director of Policy and Services
Disability Alliance

Paul is the Director of Policy and Services, responsible for leading the policy and lobbying work at Disability Alliance. Previously, he worked as policy officer at London Advice Services Alliance and as a welfare rights worker for Child Poverty Action Group. He currently chairs the Social Security Consortium and is a leading member of the Disability Benefits Consortium.

His work has covered a range of policy issues including the current welfare reforms, particularly in relation to incapacity benefit reform. He has also highlighted the need for independent advice provision across London, child poverty issues and Legal Services Commission contracting.