Change and Resilience Director General and Senior Responsible Owner Universal Credit
Neil Couling CB CBE
Biography
Neil was appointed as Change and Resilience Director General in April 2019 in addition to retaining accountability to Parliament as Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for Universal Credit.
Neil’s career started in a local benefits office administering claims for Income Support. His subsequent roles have included:
- working in policy
- Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State
- several executive roles within Jobcentre Plus and its predecessors
- Director General for the Universal Credit Programme since October 2014
Change and Resilience Director General and Senior Responsible Owner Universal Credit
In his role as Change and Resilience Director General Neil is accountable to the DWP Permanent Secretary for:
- leadership of DWP’s Major Change Portfolio
- delivering the overall objectives of the Major Change Portfolio
- the agreed delegated Major Change Portfolio budget
- leading Senior Responsible Owners (SROs) and Programme Directors in line with the corporate structure
As SRO for Universal Credit he is accountable to Parliament for implementing the government’s main welfare reform programme. This includes:
- owning and communicating the vision of the programme
- ensuring the implementation of Universal Credit is completed safely and securely
- providing clear leadership to the programme team
Previous roles in government
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Director General, Universal Credit Programme