John-Paul Marks CB
Biography
John-Paul (JP) Marks became Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on 6 April 2025.
Previously, he was Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government from January 2022, where he was responsible for the development, implementation and communication of government policies; and Principal Accountable Officer, leading the Civil Service in the Scottish Government.
JP Marks was appointed Director General, Work and Health Services at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in April 2019. Before this, he was a Director General for Operations on temporary promotion from March 2018.
Previous roles in the Civil Service include:
- Strategic Design and Planning Director in the Universal Credit Programme
- Operations Director and Area Director for South of England
- Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
- Head of Corporate Relations and International Policy at the UK Pensions Regulator
- Speechwriter to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury
- Policy Advisor, Assets, Savings and Wealth, HM Treasury
JP is Joint Head of the Operational Delivery Profession across the Civil Service, alongside Dr Jo Farrar, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice.
He is also the Civil Service Permanent Secretary Place Champion for Scotland, Co-Chair of the steering group for the Civil Service Leadership Group, and Co-Chair of the Places for Growth Programme Board.
His roles outside the Civil Service include Chair of the Civil Service Lifeboat Fund and Honorary Professor in the Centre for Public Policy at the University of Glasgow.
Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive
HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive chairs the Executive Committee, and is responsible for delivering the department’s strategy, business objectives and performance.
They are the Principal Accounting Officer and are accountable to Parliament for the department’s expenditure and performance.
Previous roles in government
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Permanent Secretary for the Scottish Government
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Director General, Work and Health Services
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Director General, Universal Credit Operations