John-Paul Marks CB

Biography
John-Paul (JP) Marks started as First Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive of HM Revenue and Customs on 6 April 2025.
Since January 2022, he had been Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government, 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.
He 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:
- Operations Director and Area Director for South of England
- Strategic Design and Planning Director in the Universal Credit Programme
- 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 Adviser, Assets, Savings and Wealth, HM Treasury
His roles outside the Civil Service include:
- Trustee, Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Fund
- Trustee, St Giles Trust
- Trustee, Treloar Trust
First Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive
HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) First 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