LATIF Online November 2025

Dan Bates is a finance specialist at LG Improve. He leads LG Improve’s Financial Resilience function, enabling councils to adapt to a leaner, more outcomes focused way of working.   Working with all types of authorities on financing and funding to modernise financial management, outcomes-based budgeting and well-being and social value. 

With a career in Local Government spanning over 25 years, and working for a number of different Local Authorities across from London Boroughs, Districts and also Unitary Councils,  Adele has a passion for the positive impact that finance and resource teams can have on our communities and our local areas and is always keen to encourage others to think about a career in Local Government whatever stage of their career they are at or their current sector experience.  She is a Fellow of CIPFA, and is currently the Interim Director of Finance and Operations (S151) at Cheltenham Borough Council.   Thanks to her interest and strengths around cultural and service change, especially assisting organisations on their improvement journeys and true transformation by ensuring finance is at the heart of organisations decision-making and through strong governance ethos, she currently enjoys working as an interim and takes it as an opportunity to learn from different organisations and take best practice from each and every place she goes.

Adele also likes to describe herself as an accidental runner who now gets as many questions about “which marathon is next” (Sierra Leone in October!) as she does about finance but she is also an extremely passionate volunteer in Girl Guiding which predates her Local Government career.  She believes she developed many of her leadership skills and ability to deal with wide-ranging and varied questions and queries through her weekly meetings with young people, which can often mirror working in Local Government!