Dame Tamara Finkelstein DCB: in conversation

Join the School for Government at King’s College London for a special event with Tamara Finkelstein, one of the UK’s most experienced former civil servants, as she reflects on intelligent and innovative policymaking in an age of uncertainty.

From 2019 to June 2025, Finkelstein was Permanent Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – the most senior civil servant in the department.

Prior to this, she led the Building Safety Programme in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and held several senior roles at HM Treasury, including private secretary and speechwriter to the Chancellor. A former head of the Government Policy Profession, she has also worked across government on policy and delivery in health and children’s services, including as Deputy Head of Sure Start.

Drawing on her decades of leadership at the heart of Whitehall spanning across six government departments, Finkelstein will share insights on how the civil service can strengthen collaboration, build trust, and deliver meaningful impact in a rapidly changing world.

This event also celebrates the relaunch of the School for Government, following its becoming part of the Policy Institute in 2023, with a new mission of helping leaders govern with intelligence, innovation, and integrity.

Join us as 2025 draws to a close for a thought-provoking discussion on how government can rise to the challenges and opportunities it is likely to face in the years ahead.

Speakers

• Dame Tamara Finkelstein DCB, former Permanent Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
• Michael Sanders, Director, School for Government at King’s College London (chair)