Permanent secretary (UK)
A permanent under-secretary of state, known informally as a permanent secretary, is the most senior
Westminster-style
systems and in some other governments. In the United States, the equivalent position is a Deputy Secretary of an executive department, though British permanent secretaries are career civil servants (whereas Deputy Secretaries are political appointees).
Permanent secretaries are appointed under a scheme in which the
Civil Service Commissioners rather than only having a veto over the Commissioners' preferred candidate. The first permanent secretary to be appointed in this way was Melanie Dawes in the Department for Communities and Local Government.[1][2]
Some permanent secretaries do not hold the position of permanent secretary but still hold that grade. The
Government Chief Scientific Adviser, Head of the Civil Service, or Prime Minister's Adviser for Europe and Global Issues.[3]
History
When
Sir John Barrow was especially requested to continue serving as Secretary in his department (the Admiralty), starting the principle that senior civil servants stay in office on change of government and serve in a non-partisan manner. It was during Barrow's occupancy of the post that it was renamed permanent secretary.[4][5]
Role
The permanent secretary, who in some but not all government departments is known formally as the permanent under-secretary of state, is the accounting officer for a department, meaning that they are answerable to
honours list
.
Some larger departments also have a second permanent secretary who acts as deputy. In the early 1970s, in a major reorganisation of Whitehall, many smaller ministries were amalgamated into larger departments. Following this reorganisation, virtually all departments had second permanent secretaries for a time, though this is no longer as common.
The most senior civil servant is the
Head of the Home Civil Service. The holder of this office is distinct from other officials of permanent secretary rank within the Cabinet Office. By convention, the Prime Minister is Minister for the Civil Service and as such makes regulations regarding the service and has authority over it. These duties are delegated to the Minister for the Cabinet Office
.
Honours
Permanent secretaries are usually created Knights/Dames Commander of the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office are usually created Knights/Dames Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George instead). The most senior permanent secretaries, such as the Cabinet Secretary, may be created Knights/Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, and even be given a life peerage after retirement. For salary comparison purposes, the permanent secretary is deemed broadly equivalent to a general and to a High Court judge
.
Current permanent secretaries
Below is a list of the individuals in the UK government at the grade of permanent secretary. Some departments are currently led by persons that do not hold the rank of Permanent Secretary or do not have a civil service executive at all; these have not been included.
| Department | Individual | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Ministerial departments | ||
| Cabinet Office | CVO[6]
|
Head of the Home Civil Service
|
KCB[7]
|
Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the Civil Service | |
| First Parliamentary Counsel | ||
CMG[9]
|
Chair, Joint Intelligence Committee | |
LVO MBE
|
National Security Adviser | |
| Vacant | Second Permanent Secretary (Union and Constitution) | |
| Mike Potter[10] | Government Chief Digital Officer | |
| Department for Business and Trade | CB[11]
|
Permanent Secretary |
KCMG[12]
|
Second Permanent Secretary and Chief Trade Negotiation Adviser | |
| Department for Culture, Media and Sport | Susannah Storey | Permanent Secretary |
| Department for Education | Susan Acland-Hood[13] | Permanent Secretary |
| Department for Energy Security and Net Zero | CB
|
Permanent Secretary |
CBE[14]
|
Second Permanent Secretary | |
| Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | CB[15]
|
Permanent Secretary |
| Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities | CVO[16]
|
Permanent Secretary |
| Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | Sarah Munby | Permanent Secretary |
| Government Chief Scientific Adviser | ||
| Department for Transport | DCB[18]
|
Permanent Secretary |
| Jo Shanmugalingam | Second Permanent Secretary | |
| Department for Work and Pensions | CB[19]
|
Permanent Secretary |
| Department of Health and Social Care | KCB[20]
|
Permanent Secretary |
CB
|
Second Permanent Secretary | |
Chief Medical Officer for England
| ||
| Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office | OBE
|
Permanent Secretary and Head of His Majesty's Diplomatic Service |
| Nick Dyer[22] | Second Permanent Secretary | |
OBE[23]
|
Permanent Representative to the United Nations | |
| Home Office | CBE[24]
|
Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office
|
| Simon Ridley[25] | Interim Second Permanent Secretary
| |
| HM Treasury | CB
|
Permanent Secretary |
| Beth Russell & Cat Little CB
|
Second Permanent Secretary | |
| Martin Clarke[26] | Government Actuary
| |
| Ministry of Defence | CB[27]
|
Permanent Secretary |
| Paul Lincoln OBE[28]
|
Second Permanent Secretary | |
| Ministry of Justice | Antonia Romeo[29] | Permanent Secretary and Clerk of the Crown in Chancery |
| Jo Farrar[30] | Second Permanent Secretary | |
| Northern Ireland Office | Julie Harrison[31] | Permanent Secretary |
| Non-ministerial departments and non-departmental public bodies | ||
| Crown Prosecution Service | Stephen Parkinson | Director of Public Prosecutions |
Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)
|
Anne Keast-Butler[32] | Director of the Government Communications Headquarters
|
| Government Legal Department | Susanna McGibbon[33] | His Majesty's Procurator General, Treasury Solicitor and Head of the Government Legal Service
|
| HM Revenue and Customs | CB[34]
|
First Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive |
| Angela MacDonald[35] | Deputy Chief Executive and Second Permanent Secretary, Tax Assurance Commissioner | |
| National Crime Agency | CBE[36]
|
Director General of the National Crime Agency |
| Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills | Sir Martyn Oliver | His Majesty's Chief Inspector |
Secret Intelligence Service (MI6)
|
KCMG[37]
|
Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service |
| Security Service (MI5) | Ken McCallum[38] | Director General of the Security Service |
| UK Statistics Authority | Sir Ian Diamond[39] | National Statistician |
| Samantha Beckett[40] | Second Permanent Secretary | |
| Devolved governments | ||
| Northern Ireland Executive | Jayne Brady[41] | Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service |
| Scottish Government | John-Paul Marks[42] | Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government |
| Welsh Government | CBE[43]
|
Permanent Secretary |
See also
- His Majesty's Civil Service
- His Majesty's Diplomatic Service
- Parliamentary Private Secretary
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
- Permanent secretary
- Principal secretary
- Private secretary
- Undersecretary
- Yes Minister, a satirical examination of role of a permanent secretary
References
- ^ "New Permanent Secretary for the Department for Communities and Local Government". Department for Communities and Local Government. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- ^ "Lying in wait: who will be the permanent secretaries meeting the new ministers in 2015?". Institute for Government. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- ^ Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 Section 2(6); Schedule 1 Section 11(1).
- S2CID 162648974.
- ^ FCDO Historians (1 April 2002). "The Permanent Under-Secretary of State: A Brief History of the Office and its Holders". Retrieved 5 September 2023.
- ^ "Simon Case appointed as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service". GOV.UK.
- ^ "New Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office and Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service". GOV.UK. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ "First Parliamentary Counsel appointed: Elizabeth Gardiner". GOV.UK. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ "Madeleine Alessandri CMG". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "New Chief People Officer and Chief Digital Officer appointed". GOV.UK. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ Making Government Deliver for the British People, Government Policy Paper, published 7 February 2023
- ^ "DIT appoints Crawford Falconer as new Chief Trade Negotiation Adviser". GOV.UK. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ "Susan Acland-Hood made Acting Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education". gov.uk. HM Government. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
- ^ "Our Management". GOV.UK. 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ "Appointment of new Permanent Secretary at Defra". GOV.UK. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities website, accessed on 8 February 2023.
- ^ "Professor Dame Angela McLean". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "New Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport". GOV.UK. 18 April 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ "Appointment of Peter Schofield as Permanent Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions". GOV.UK. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ "New Permanent Secretary for the Department of Health". GOV.UK. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ "New chief medical officer appointed". GOV.UK. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ "New Second Permanent Under-Secretary in the FCDO". GOV.UK. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ "Dame Barbara Woodward DCMG OBE". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "Matthew Rycroft CBE appointed Permanent Secretary at the Home Office". GOV.UK. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ "Simon Ridley". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "Martin Clarke announced as new Government Actuary". GOV.UK. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ "David Williams". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "Paul Lincoln CB OBE VR". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "Antonia Romeo". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "Appointment of Jo Farrar as Second Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice". GOV.UK. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
- ^ "Ms Julie Harrison". GOV.UK. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
- ^ "New Director GCHQ announced". GOV.UK. 11 April 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ "Susanna McGibbon appointed as Treasury Solicitor, HM Procurator General and Permanent Secretary, Government Legal Department". GOV.UK. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ "Jim Harra takes top job at HMRC". Accountancy Daily. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ "Angela MacDonald". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "Graeme Biggar appointed Director General of the National Crime Agency". National Crime Agency. 1 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
- ^ "Appointment of the new Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6)". GOV.UK. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ "New Director General of MI5 appointed". MI5.GOV.UK. 30 March 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
- ^ "About the national statistician". statisticsauthority.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ "About the national statistician". statisticsauthority.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ "New Head of the Civil Service announced". The Executive Office. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "New Permanent Secretary".
- ^ "New Permanent Secretary to the Welsh Government". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 July 2023.