The Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office, known informally as the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, is the second-most senior
civil servant of the
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...
. It was conventionally joined with the positions of
Cabinet Secretary
A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...
and
Head of the Civil Service. This triple role was disbanded in January 2012 after
Gus O'Donnell retired.
Due to the Cabinet Office having expanded and taken on new responsibilities since the 2010 election, including cutting costs and driving efficiency across government, it is led by a dedicated Permanent Secretary.
Cabinet Office News
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The current Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office is Cat Little.
List of permanent secretaries
* Ian Watmore (January – June 2012)
* Sir Richard Heaton (August 2012 – August 2015)
* Sir John Manzoni (August 2015 – April 2020) – Also Chief Executive of the Civil Service
* Sir Alex Chisholm (April 2020 – April 2024) – Also Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service
* Cat Little (April 2024 – present) – Also Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service
See also
* Number 10 Downing Street
*Civil Service
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
References
External links
Cabinet OfficeCivil Service Permanent Secretaries
{{Downing Street, state=collapsed
Politics of the United Kingdom
Cabinet Office (United Kingdom)
Civil Service (United Kingdom)