Our governance
Our leaders need to set a clear overall direction for the Civil Service so that all our different organisations work as a coherent and effective whole. The head of the Civil Service is supported in this by all his permanent secretaries through the Civil Service Governance Boards.
Civil Service Governance
Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service
Simon Case is the Prime Minister’s most senior policy adviser. He acts as Secretary to the Cabinet and is responsible for:
- supporting all ministers in the running of government
- providing professional leadership to the Civil Service
The Civil Service is made up of all government organisations (except for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office). It also includes the Welsh Assembly Government and the Scottish Government.
Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service
Catherine Little leads the efficiency programme, working with permanent secretaries across government to put in place reforms. She also chairs the Civil Service Board, supporting the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service in performance-managing the other Whitehall Permanent Secretaries. She is the Permanent Secretary for the Cabinet Office.
Permanent Secretaries
A permanent secretary is the most senior civil servant in a department. Each supports the government minister at the head of the department, who is accountable to Parliament for the department’s actions and performance.
The permanent secretary is the accounting officer for their department, reporting to Parliament. They are responsible for the day-to-day running of the department, including the budget.
Scottish and Welsh Permanent Secretaries
The Permanent Secretary of the Scottish Government is accountable to Scottish Ministers and is the Principal Accountable Officer for the Scottish Government.
The Permanent Secretary of the Welsh Government is accountable to the First Minister of Wales and is the Principal Accounting Officer for the Welsh Government.
People Board
The People Board is a formal sub-board of CSB. It oversees strategic people-related issues across the Civil Service.
The People Board is responsible for:
- overseeing implementation of the Civil Service Workforce Plan
- the development of Civil Service-wide policies relating to terms and conditions and pay and pensions for all civil servants, including the strategy for specialist pay
- the assessment of short, medium and long-term capabilities gaps and the development and implementation of plans to fill them, including a strategy for learning and development
- implementing the Civil Service Diversity Strategy
- Civil Service-wide employee relation issues
Members
| Name | Department |
|---|---|
| Sarah Healey CB CVO | (Chair) Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government |
| Sarah Munby | Department for Science Innovation Technology |
| Jim Harra CB | HM Revenue & Customs |
| Susan Acland-Hood | Department for Education |
| Sir Philip Barton KCMG OBE | Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office |
| Fiona Ryland | Chief People Officer, Cabinet Office |
| Beth Russell | HMT |
| Professor Dame Angela McLean DB FRS | GO-Science |
| Gareth Davies CB | DBT |
| Phil Swallow | Home Office NED |
| Susannah Storey | DCMS |
| Dr Andrew Goodall | Welsh Government |
The Civil Service Shadow Board
The Civil Service Shadow Board (CSSB) is comprised of Civil Servants from the departments represented at the CSB. CSSB members are drawn from grades below the Senior Civil Service to provide different perspectives and views on the issues discussed at the CSB. The CSSB provides views on the papers going to Civil Service Board (CSB) in advance of each monthly Board meeting. Representatives of the CSSB also attend the CSB meetings to contribute and give their views in person.