Stephen Peckham is Reader in Health Policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and is also Director of the National Co-ordinating Centre for Service Delivery and Organisation Research – part of the NHS National Institute of Health Research. He is a member of a number of national research committees that fund and assess health research. He as 17 years experience as a health services researcher and has published numerous articles in peer reviewed journals and authored books on primary care and public health. He has been an active member of the local community having been involved in local voluntary organisations in the Southampton and Eastleigh areas and was a member of the Southampton City Primary Care Trust board until two years ago. He became involved in Hampshire Against Fluoridation as he does not believe that water fluoridation is a safe and effective method for preventing tooth decay and would like to see government guidelines changed to enable more school based dental health prevention and treatment programmes that reach the children most in need.