Permanent secretary (UK) explained

Permanent secretary (UK) should not be confused with Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State.

A permanent under-secretary of state, known informally as a permanent secretary, is the most senior civil servant of a ministry in the United Kingdom, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis. Permanent secretaries are appointed under a scheme in which the prime minister has the final say in the recruitment process; since 2015, the PM chooses directly from a list created by the Civil Service Commissioners rather than only having a veto over the Commissioners' preferred candidate.[1] [2]

Some permanent secretaries do not hold the position of permanent secretary but still hold that grade. The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 explains that a permanent secretary, for the purposes of Section 2 of that Act, is a person serving in government in any of the following positions: Permanent Secretary, Second Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Secretary, Chief Executive of His Majesty's Revenue and Customs, Chief Medical Officer, Director of Public Prosecutions, First Parliamentary Counsel, Government Chief Scientific Adviser, Head of the Civil Service, or Prime Minister's Adviser for Europe and Global Issues.[3]

Similar offices, often employing different terms, exist in many other 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.

History

When Lord Grey took office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1830, 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 Parliament for ensuring that the department appropriately spends money granted by Parliament. Permanent secretaries are thus frequently called for questioning by the Public Accounts Committee and select committees of the House of Commons. The permanent secretary usually chairs a department's management board which consists of executive members (other civil servants in the department) and non-executive directors. In the 1970s, the permanent secretary to Tony Benn when he was Secretary of State for Industry was Peter Carey. After Benn spent government money on worker cooperatives, notably Meriden Motorcycle Co-operative, Carey went before the Public Accounts Committee and expressed the opinion that his minister's expenditure had been ultra vires. Benn was soon moved to the Department of Energy, while Carey received a knighthood in the following 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 Cabinet Secretary, currently Simon Case; he is normally also 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 Order of the Bath after five or more years of service in the grade, or on retirement if not already holding the title (although Permanent Secretaries 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.

Permanent secretaries in the UK government!Department!Individual!Position
Ministerial departments
Cabinet OfficeSimon Case [6] Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service
Catherine Little [7] Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the Civil Service
Jessica de Mounteney[8] First Parliamentary Counsel
Madeleine Alessandri [9] Chair, Joint Intelligence Committee
National Security Adviser
Clara SwinsonSecond Permanent Secretary, Head of the Mission Delivery Unit
Department for Business and TradeGareth Davies [10] Permanent Secretary
Sir Crawford Falconer [11] Second Permanent Secretary and Chief Trade Negotiation Adviser
Department for Culture, Media and SportSusannah StoreyPermanent Secretary
Department for EducationSusan Acland-Hood[12] Permanent Secretary
Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroPermanent Secretary
Clive Maxwell [13] Second Permanent Secretary
Department for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTamara Finkelstein [14] Permanent Secretary
Nicholas Joicey [15] Second Permanent Secretary
Department for Science, Innovation and TechnologySarah MunbyPermanent Secretary
Dame Angela McLean [16] Government Chief Scientific Adviser
Department for TransportDame Bernadette Kelly [17] Permanent Secretary
Jo Shanmugalingam Second Permanent Secretary
Department for Work and PensionsSir Peter Schofield [18] Permanent Secretary
Department of Health and Social CareSir Chris Wormald [19] Permanent Secretary
vacantSecond Permanent Secretary
Sir Chris Whitty [20] Chief Medical Officer for England
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development OfficePermanent Secretary and Head of His Majesty's Diplomatic Service
Nick Dyer[21] Second Permanent Secretary
Home OfficeSir Matthew Rycroft [22] Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office
Simon Ridley[23] Interim Second Permanent Secretary
HM TreasuryPermanent Secretary
Beth Russell Second Permanent Secretary
Martin Clarke[24] Government Actuary
Ministry of DefenceDavid Williams [25] Permanent Secretary
Paul Lincoln [26] Second Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentSarah Healey [27] Permanent Secretary
Ministry of JusticeDame Antonia Romeo [28] Permanent Secretary and Clerk of the Crown in Chancery
Jo Farrar[29] Second Permanent Secretary
Northern Ireland OfficeJulie Harrison[30] Permanent Secretary
Non-ministerial departments and non-departmental public bodies
Crown Prosecution ServiceStephen ParkinsonDirector of Public Prosecutions
Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)Anne Keast-Butler[31] Director of the Government Communications Headquarters
Government Legal DepartmentSusanna McGibbon[32] His Majesty's Procurator General, Treasury Solicitor and Head of the Government Legal Service
HM Revenue and CustomsSir Jim Harra [33] First Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive
Angela MacDonald[34] Deputy Chief Executive and Second Permanent Secretary, Tax Assurance Commissioner
National Crime AgencyGraeme Biggar [35] Director General of the National Crime Agency
Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and SkillsSir Martyn OliverHis Majesty's Chief Inspector
Secret Intelligence Service (MI6)Sir Richard Moore [36] Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service
Security Service (MI5)Ken McCallum[37] Director General of the Security Service
UK Statistics AuthoritySir Ian Diamond[38] National Statistician
Samantha Beckett[39] Second Permanent Secretary
Devolved governments
Northern Ireland ExecutiveJayne Brady[40] Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service
Scottish GovernmentJohn-Paul Marks[41] Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government
Welsh GovernmentAndrew Goodall [42] Permanent Secretary

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 8 January 2015 . New Permanent Secretary for the Department for Communities and Local Government . 4 November 2015 . Department for Communities and Local Government.
  2. Web site: Lying in wait: who will be the permanent secretaries meeting the new ministers in 2015? . 4 November 2015 . Institute for Government. 7 May 2015 .
  3. [Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014]
  4. Middleton . Charles R. . 1974 . John Backhouse and the Origins of the Permanent Undersecretaryship for Foreign Affairs: 1828-1842 . Journal of British Studies . 13 . 2 . 24–45 . 10.1086/385657 . 175086 . 162648974 . 0021-9371.
  5. Web site: FCDO Historians . 2002-04-01 . The Permanent Under-Secretary of State: A Brief History of the Office and its Holders . 2023-09-05 . en.
  6. Web site: Simon Case appointed as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service . GOV.UK.
  7. Web site: 22 February 2024 . The Cabinet Secretary has appointed Cat Little as the new Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office . 2024-05-07 . GOV.UK . en.
  8. Web site: New First Parliamentary Counsel Appointed . 2024-07-02 . GOV.UK . en.
  9. Web site: Madeleine Alessandri CMG . 2023-07-10 . GOV.UK . en.
  10. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-government-deliver-for-the-british-people/making-government-deliver-for-the-british-people-html#department-for-business-and-trade Making Government Deliver for the British People
  11. Web site: 16 June 2017 . DIT appoints Crawford Falconer as new Chief Trade Negotiation Adviser . 2019-06-24 . GOV.UK . en.
  12. Web site: Susan Acland-Hood made Acting Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education . 1 September 2020 . gov.uk . HM Government.
  13. Web site: 30 December 2023 . Our Management . 2023-12-30 . GOV.UK . en.
  14. Web site: 19 June 2019 . Appointment of new Permanent Secretary at Defra . 2019-06-24 . GOV.UK . en.
  15. Web site: 19 June 2019 . Second Permanent Secretary appointed at Defra . 2023-06-27 . GOV.UK . en.
  16. Web site: Professor Dame Angela McLean . 2023-07-10 . GOV.UK . en.
  17. Web site: 18 April 2017 . New Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport . 2019-06-24 . GOV.UK . en.
  18. Web site: 0131 310 1122 . 12 January 2018 . Appointment of Peter Schofield as Permanent Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions . 2019-06-24 . GOV.UK . en.
  19. Web site: 15 January 2016 . New Permanent Secretary for the Department of Health . 2019-06-24 . GOV.UK . en.
  20. Web site: 7 June 2019 . New chief medical officer appointed . 2019-06-24 . GOV.UK . en.
  21. Web site: 14 June 2023 . New Second Permanent Under-Secretary in the FCDO . 2023-06-14 . GOV.UK . en.
  22. Web site: Matthew Rycroft CBE appointed Permanent Secretary at the Home Office . 2020-04-21 . GOV.UK . en.
  23. Web site: Simon Ridley . 2023-07-10 . GOV.UK . en.
  24. Web site: 5 March 2014 . Martin Clarke announced as new Government Actuary . 2019-06-24 . GOV.UK . en.
  25. Web site: David Williams . 2023-07-10 . GOV.UK . en.
  26. News: Paul Lincoln CB OBE VR . en . GOV.UK . 2023-07-10.
  27. Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities website, accessed on 8 February 2023.
  28. Web site: Antonia Romeo . 2023-07-10 . GOV.UK . en.
  29. Web site: Appointment of Jo Farrar as Second Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice . 2021-03-16 . GOV.UK . en.
  30. Web site: Ms Julie Harrison . 2023-11-18 . GOV.UK . en.
  31. Web site: 11 April 2023 . New Director GCHQ announced . 2023-06-14 . GOV.UK . en.
  32. Web site: 18 February 2021 . Susanna McGibbon appointed as Treasury Solicitor, HM Procurator General and Permanent Secretary, Government Legal Department . 2021-03-10 . GOV.UK . en.
  33. Web site: Jim Harra takes top job at HMRC . Accountancy Daily . 2020-02-03.
  34. Web site: Angela MacDonald . 2023-07-10 . GOV.UK . en.
  35. News: Graeme Biggar appointed Director General of the National Crime Agency . 7 October 2021 . National Crime Agency. 1 October 2021.
  36. Web site: 3 October 2014 . Appointment of the new Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) . 2019-06-24 . GOV.UK . en.
  37. Web site: 30 March 2020 . New Director General of MI5 appointed . 2020-06-29 . MI5.GOV.UK . en.
  38. Web site: About the national statistician . 2020-06-16 . statisticsauthority.gov.uk . en-GB.
  39. Web site: About the national statistician . 2020-06-16 . statisticsauthority.gov.uk . en-GB.
  40. Web site: 2021-06-10 . New Head of the Civil Service announced . 2023-07-10 . The Executive Office . en.
  41. Web site: New Permanent Secretary .
  42. Web site: New Permanent Secretary to the Welsh Government . 2023-07-10 . GOV.UK . en.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Permanent secretary (UK)".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.