Sarah Harrison MBE is a British civil servant, serving since July 2020 as the Chief Operating Officer for the Cabinet Office. [1]
Harrison has worked in the regulatory and public relations industries, with a number of higher-profile appointments. These started as Chief Executive of ICSTIS (now the Phone-paid Services Authority) from 1994 to 1999, and then joining Ofgem, first as communications director, then managing director of corporate affairs, and finally as Senior Partner for sustainable development. [2] She was then appointed Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission in October 2015, replacing Jenny Williams. [3]
In February 2018, Harrison took over as the director-general for corporate services at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy under Sir Alex Chisholm as permanent secretary. She transferred to the Cabinet Office in July 2020, shortly after Chisholm moved there as Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, and she was eventually replaced at BEIS by Freya Guinness from April 2021. [4]
Harrison was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2016 Birthday Honours for "services to Consumer Protection". [5]
The Ministry of Defence is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for implementing the defence policy set by the government and serves as the headquarters of the British Armed Forces.
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.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility for culture and sport, and some aspects of the media throughout the UK, such as broadcasting. Its main offices are at 100 Parliament Street, occupying part of the building known as Government Offices Great George Street.
A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powers, including general responsibility for the entire civil service.
The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), supporting the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority, is the government regulator for the electricity and downstream natural gas markets in Great Britain. It was formed by the merger of the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER) and Office of Gas Supply (Ofgas).
Dame Katharine Mary Barker is a British economist. She is principally noted for her role at the Bank of England and for advising the British government on social issues such as housing and health care.
The government of the United Kingdom, officially His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government, is the central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The government is led by the prime minister who selects all the other ministers. The country has had a Labour government since 2024. The prime minister and his most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision-making committee, known as the Cabinet.
The National Security Council is a United Kingdom cabinet committee. The Council's terms of reference were said in September 2022 to include matters relating to national security, foreign policy, defence, trade, international relations, development, resilience and resource security. As of 2024, the meetings are held weekly.
Sir Alexander James Chisholm is a British civil servant and former regulator, who served as Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary and the chief operating officer of the United Kingdom's Civil Service between April 2020 and April 2024.
Lucy Jeanne Neville-Rolfe, Baroness Neville-Rolfe is a British businesswoman and politician who served as Minister of State at the Cabinet Office from September 2022 to July 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, she served in ministerial positions under prime ministers David Cameron, Theresa May, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak. In December 2021, she was appointed by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to lead the statutory review into the state pension age.
Sir John Alexander Manzoni is a British senior civil servant and business executive, who served as chief executive of the civil service and the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary from 2014 to 2020.
The Honours Committee is a committee within the Cabinet Office of the Government of the United Kingdom formed to review nominations for national honours for merit, exceptional achievement or service. Twice yearly the Honours Committee submits formal recommendations for the British monarch's New Years and Birthday Honours. Members of the Honours Committee—which comprises a main committee and nine subcommittees in speciality areas—research and vet nominations for national awards, including knighthoods and the Order of the British Empire.
Dame Sharon Michele White, Lady Chote, is a British businesswoman who served as the sixth Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, having previously held a variety of roles in the Civil Service.
Philip John Rycroft is a British civil servant who served as the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Exiting the European Union from 2017 to 2019.
Jonathan Slater is a former high ranking British civil servant. From May 2016, he was Permanent Secretary of the Department for Education until his abrupt dismissal on 26 August 2020 following a controversy over national school examination grades.
Patrick Joseph McGuinness is a former senior British civil servant who now advises businesses and governments globally on their resilience, crisis, technology, data and cyber issues.
Andrew John Griffith is a British Conservative Party politician and former senior media executive who has been Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade since November 2024 and Member of Parliament (MP) for Arundel and South Downs since 2019.
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.
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.