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. 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).
Permanent secretaries are appointed under a scheme in which the prime minister has the final say in the recruitment process; the PM now chooses directly from a list created by 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 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]
When Lord Grey took office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1830, 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.
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 a motorbike company (Meriden Motorcycle Co-operative), Carey went before the Public Accounts Committee and expressed the opinion that his minister's expenditure had been ultra vires.[citation needed] 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.
Permanent secretaries are usually created a Knight or Dame 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 the Permanent Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will be created a Knight or Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George instead). The most senior permanent secretaries, such as the Cabinet Secretary, may be created a Knight 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.
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. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
^"Appointment of Jo Farrar as Second Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice". GOV.UK. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
^"Dominic Wilson". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
^"Max Hill QC joins the CPS as Director of Public Prosecutions". GOV.UK. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
^"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". www.accountancydaily.co. 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.
^"Letter from Nicky Morgan: appointment of Amanda Spielman as HMCI". GOV.UK. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
^"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 to the Welsh Government". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
External links
List of current UK Permanent Secretaries
August 24, 2023
permanent, secretary, confused, with, parliamentary, secretary, state, permanent, under, secretary, state, known, informally, permanent, secretary, most, senior, civil, servant, ministry, united, kingdom, charged, with, running, department, basis, similar, off. Not to be confused with Parliamentary 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 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 Permanent secretaries are appointed under a scheme in which the prime minister has the final say in the recruitment process the PM now chooses directly from a list created by 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 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 Contents 1 History 2 Role 3 Honours 4 Current permanent secretaries 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksHistory EditWhen Lord Grey took office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1830 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 Role EditThe 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 a motorbike company Meriden Motorcycle Co operative Carey went before the Public Accounts Committee and expressed the opinion that his minister s expenditure had been ultra vires citation needed 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 EditPermanent secretaries are usually created a Knight or Dame 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 the Permanent Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will be created a Knight or Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George instead The most senior permanent secretaries such as the Cabinet Secretary may be created a Knight 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 EditBelow is a list of the individuals in the UK government at the grade of permanent secretary Permanent secretaries in the UK government Department Individual PositionMinisterial departmentsCabinet Office Simon Case CVO 4 Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil ServiceSir Alex Chisholm KCB 5 Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary and chief operating officer of the Civil ServiceDame Elizabeth Gardiner DCB KC 6 First Parliamentary CounselMadeleine Alessandri CMG 7 Chair Joint Intelligence CommitteeSir Tim Barrow GCMG LVO MBE National Security AdviserVacant Second Permanent Secretary Union and Constitution Mike Potter 8 Government Chief Digital OfficerDepartment for Science Innovation and Technology Sarah Munby Permanent SecretaryDame Angela McLean DBE 9 Government Chief Scientific AdviserDepartment for Culture Media and Sport Ruth Hannant and Polly Payne job share interim 10 Permanent SecretaryDepartment for Education Susan Acland Hood 11 Permanent SecretaryDepartment for Environment Food and Rural Affairs Tamara Finkelstein CB 12 Permanent SecretaryDepartment for Business and Trade Gareth Davies CB 13 Permanent SecretaryCrawford Falconer 14 Second Permanent Secretary and Chief Trade Negotiation AdviserDepartment for Transport Dame Bernadette Kelly DCB 15 Permanent SecretaryJo Shanmugalingam Second Permanent SecretaryDepartment for Work and Pensions Peter Schofield CB 16 Permanent SecretaryDepartment of Health and Social Care Sir Chris Wormald KCB 17 Permanent SecretaryShona Dunn CB Second Permanent SecretarySir Chris Whitty KCB 18 Chief Medical Officer for EnglandForeign Commonwealth and Development Office Sir Philip Barton KCMG OBE Permanent Secretary and Head of His Majesty s Diplomatic ServiceNick Dyer 19 Second Permanent SecretaryDame Barbara Woodward DCMG OBE 20 Permanent Representative to the United NationsHome Office Sir Matthew Rycroft KCMG CBE 21 Permanent Under Secretary of State at the Home OfficeSimon Ridley 22 Interim Second Permanent SecretaryHM Treasury James Bowler CB Permanent SecretaryBeth Russell amp Cat Little CB Second Permanent SecretaryMartin Clarke 23 Government ActuaryDepartment for Levelling Up Housing and Communities Sarah Healey CB 24 Permanent SecretaryMinistry of Defence David Williams CB 25 Permanent SecretaryPaul Lincoln CB OBE 26 Second Permanent SecretaryMinistry of Justice Antonia Romeo 27 Permanent Secretary and Clerk of the Crown in ChanceryJo Farrar 28 Second Permanent SecretaryNorthern Ireland Office Dominic Wilson 29 Interim Permanent SecretaryNon ministerial departments and non departmental public bodiesCrown Prosecution Service Max Hill KC 30 Director of Public ProsecutionsGovernment Communications Headquarters GCHQ Anne Keast Butler 31 Director of the Government Communications HeadquartersGovernment Legal Department Susanna McGibbon 32 His Majesty s Procurator General Treasury Solicitor and Head of the Government Legal ServiceHM Revenue and Customs Jim Harra CB 33 First Permanent Secretary and Chief ExecutiveAngela MacDonald 34 Deputy Chief Executive and Second Permanent Secretary Tax Assurance CommissionerNational Crime Agency Graeme Biggar CBE 35 Director General of the National Crime AgencyOffice for Standards in Education Children s Services and Skills Amanda Spielman 36 His Majesty s Chief InspectorSecret Intelligence Service MI6 Sir Richard Moore KCMG 37 Chief of the Secret Intelligence ServiceSecurity Service MI5 Ken McCallum 38 Director General of the Security ServiceUK Statistics Authority Sir Ian Diamond 39 National StatisticianSamantha Beckett 40 Second Permanent SecretaryDevolved governmentsNorthern Ireland Executive Jayne Brady 41 Head of the Northern Ireland Civil ServiceScottish Government John Paul Marks 42 Permanent Secretary to the Scottish GovernmentWelsh Government Andrew Goodall CBE 43 Permanent SecretarySee also EditHis Majesty s Civil Service His Majesty s Diplomatic Service Parliamentary Private Secretary Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Principal secretary Private secretary Undersecretary Yes Minister a satirical examination of role of a permanent secretaryReferences Edit 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 Retrieved 4 November 2015 Transparency of Lobbying Non party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 Section 2 6 Schedule 1 Section 11 1 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 Professor Dame Angela McLean GOV UK Retrieved 10 July 2023 Making Government Deliver for the British People Government Policy Paper published 7 February 2023 Susan Acland Hood made Acting Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education gov uk HM Government Retrieved 1 September 2020 Appointment of new Permanent Secretary at Defra GOV UK 19 June 2019 Retrieved 24 June 2019 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 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 Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities website accessed on 8 February 2023 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 Dominic Wilson GOV UK Retrieved 10 July 2023 Max Hill QC joins the CPS as Director of Public Prosecutions GOV UK 1 November 2018 Retrieved 24 June 2019 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 www accountancydaily co 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 Letter from Nicky Morgan appointment of Amanda Spielman as HMCI GOV UK 7 July 2016 Retrieved 24 June 2019 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 External links EditList of current UK Permanent Secretaries Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Permanent secretary UK amp oldid 1167688686, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
