Permanent Secretary

Sir Chris Wormald KCB

Biography

Chris Wormald was appointed Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health in May 2016.

His previous posts include:

  • Permanent Secretary for the Department for Education
  • Director General in the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office, Cabinet Office
  • Head of the Economic and Domestic Secretariat, Cabinet Office
  • Director General, Public Service Reform, Cabinet Office
  • Director General for Local Government and Regeneration at the Department for Communities and Local Government
  • Principal Private Secretary to Estelle Morris and Charles Clarke

Permanent Secretary

The Permanent Secretary leads the day-to-day running of the department and heads the department’s senior team.

Along with other members of the departmental board, the Permanent Secretary is responsible for:

  • advising ministers on strategy and objectives for the health and social care system
  • setting standards within the department
  • making arrangements for governance, assurance and risk management
  • overseeing the department’s performance and assuring the performance of sponsored organisations
  • approving the department’s business plan, resource accounts, departmental report and major spending

Department of Health and Social Care

Previous roles in government

  • Permanent Secretary
  • Director General, Deputy Prime Minister’s Office