In the United Kingdom,the Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy or secretariat of Crown employees that supports His Majesty's Government,the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government,which is led by a cabinet of ministers chosen by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution. Its areas for responsibility of decision making and domestic policy in the country include the economy,education,healthcare,justice and the legal system,rural affairs,housing,the crown estate,the environment,the fire service,equal opportunities,the transportation network,and tax,amongst others.
The Welsh Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Wales. The government consists of cabinet secretaries and ministers. It is led by the first minister,usually the leader of the largest party in the Senedd,who selects ministers with the approval of the Senedd. The government is responsible for tabling policy in devolved areas for consideration by the Senedd and implementing policy that has been approved by it.
Sir Thomas Whinfield Scholar is a British civil servant who served as Permanent Secretary to the Treasury from 2016 to 2022. He was previously the prime minister's adviser on European and global issues in the Cabinet Office from 2013 to 2016. He has been a director of the nationalised bank Northern Rock,and served as chief of staff for Gordon Brown.
Sir Jonathan Andrew de Sievrac Stephens,KCB is a retired British civil servant who was Permanent Secretary at the Northern Ireland Office between 2014 and 2020,and the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Culture,Media and Sport between 2006 and 2013. On his retirement,he was replaced as Permanent Secretary of the Northern Ireland Office by Madeleine Alessandri.
Mark Philip Sedwill,Baron Sedwill,is a British diplomat and senior civil servant who served as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service to Prime Ministers Theresa May and Boris Johnson from 2018 to 2020. He also served as the United Kingdom National Security Adviser from 2017 to 2020. He was previously the United Kingdom's Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010 and the NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan in 2010. He was the Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office from February 2013 to April 2017.
Dame Ursula Brennan is a retired British civil servant and a former Permanent Secretary at the United Kingdom's Ministry of Justice where she was also the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery.
Sir Oliver Robbins is a former senior British civil servant who served as the Prime Minister's Europe Adviser and the chief Brexit negotiator from 2017 to 2019. He was a controversial figure among Brexit supporters for his perceived pro-European stance. He previously served as the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Exiting the European Union from July 2016 to September 2017,and as the Prime Minister's Advisor on Europe and Global Issues from June 2016 to July 2016. Since 2019,he has been an investment advisor at Goldman Sachs.
James Edward Bowler CB is a senior British civil servant currently serving as the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury since October 2022 having previously served as permanent secretary at the Department for International Trade since 2021. Before assuming this role,Bowler was the second permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office from 2020 to 2021 where he led the COVID Taskforce for the British Government. He was the Director General for Policy,Communication and Analysis at the Ministry of Justice from March to October 2020. Bowler is currently Trustee of the charity Police Now.
Sir Philip McDougall Rutnam,is a British former civil servant who served as Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office from 2017 until his resignation on 29 February 2020. Prior to this,he was the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport for five years and also Acting Permanent Secretary at the Department for Business,Innovation and Skills in 2010.
Sir Jonathan Michael Thompson,is a British civil servant who served as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) from September 2012 until April 2016,when he succeeded Dame Lin Homer as Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive of HM Revenue and Customs. He became Chief Executive of the Financial Reporting Council after leaving HMRC in Autumn 2019.
Sir Richard Nicholas Heaton,KCB is a barrister and former senior British civil servant who was the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and Clerk of the Crown in Chancery from September 2015 until resigning in August 2020. He had previously served as Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary,and First Parliamentary Counsel. He currently serves as Warden of Robinson College,Cambridge.
Simon Case is a British civil servant who has served as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service since September 2020.
Sir Christopher Stephen Wormald,is a British civil servant serving as Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Care since 2016.
The Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat (EDS) is a secretariat in the United Kingdom Cabinet Office.
Sarah Elizabeth Healey is a British civil servant,appointed as Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Housing,Communities and Local Government in February 2023. Previously,she was Permanent Secretary at the Department for Digital,Culture,Media and Sport (DCMS).
Shona Hunter Dunn is the CEO of the First Aid charity St John Ambulance and a former British civil servant,serving from October 2018 to May 2024 as the Second Permanent Secretary at the Home Office.
Sarah Anne Munby is a British civil servant who has served as the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Science,Innovation and Technology since February 2023. She was previously the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Business,Energy and Industrial Strategy from July 2020 to February 2023.
Jeremy Mark Pocklington CB is a British civil servant who has served as Permanent Secretary of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero since February 2023. He served as Permanent Secretary of the Department for Levelling Up,Housing and Communities (DLUHC) from March 2020 to February 2023. He was formerly Director General for Housing and Planning at the MHCLG,having served in that role from August 2018 until his appointment as Permanent Secretary at the MHCLG.
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.
