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.
Civil Service Board
The Civil Service Board (CSB) is responsible for the strategic leadership of the Civil Service, to make sure it works as a coherent and effective whole and has the capability both now, and in the future, to respond to any challenges. Chaired by the Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service, Catherine Little, it is comprised of a cross-section of permanent secretaries from Civil Service departments.
The CSB is accountable to the Cabinet Secretary and is responsible for considering the strategic challenges faced by the Civil Service, and collectively agreeing a way forward.
The CSB takes responsibility, at an official level, for:
- setting the strategic direction for the operating model of government, system-wide capability and capacity, cross-cutting delivery, efficiency programmes, and ensuring value for money;
- implementing the future vision for the Civil Service as a whole and solving long-term organisational and cultural challenges including around people and technology;
- managing performance and systemic risk to ensure the Civil Service is successfully implementing the government’s programme;
- ensuring that lessons learned from National Audit Office or other external reports are shared and actioned across departments;
- ensuring Government priorities are responded to effectively;
- promoting coherent cross-government and cross-functional working; and
- holding Functions to account for delivery of their priorities.
As the most senior collective leadership body, members of CSB also support the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service in a programme of visible leadership and engagement with other tiers of the Senior Civil Service (SCS), and the wider Civil Service.
Members
| Name | Department |
|---|---|
| Catherine Little CB | (Chair) Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service & Permanent Secretary for the Cabinet Office |
| Simon Case CVO | Cabinet Secretary & Head of the Civil Service |
| Sir Peter Schofield KCB | Department for Work & Pensions |
| Sir Matthew Rycroft KCMG CBE | Home Office |
| Antonia Romeo | Ministry of Justice |
| David Williams CB | Ministry of Defence |
| James Bowler CB | HM Treasury |
| John-Paul Marks | Scottish Government |
| Dame Bernadette Kelly DCB | Department for Transport |
| Tamara Finkelstein CB | Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs |
| Sarah Healey CB CVO | Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities |
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) Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities |
| Sarah Munby | Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy |
| Jim Harra CB | HM Revenue & Customs |
| Susan Acland-Hood | Department for Education |
| Shona Dunn CB | Home Office |
| Sir Philip Barton KCMG OBE | Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office |
| Cat Little | HM Treasury |
| Fiona Ryland | Chief People Officer, Cabinet Office |
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.