With the end of 2015 in sight, we asked Whitehall's top officials to review the year, set out their priorities for 2016 – and shed some light on their festive plans. Martin Donnelly, permanent secretary at the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) takes part in our biggest-ever perm secs' round-up series
How did you tackle the biggest challenges facing your organisation in 2015?
We worked hard to prepare for the election, including challenge sessions for all our senior team including me. This helped us respond quickly to our new ministers’ priorities.
We have built on our values of teamwork, diversity and personal leadership. Half of all the senior civil service posts in BIS are filled by women: we have a part-time director general and several director-level job shares in key policy posts. While there is more to do across the diversity agenda I am proud of the commitment across BIS to maintain these shared values.
What are your department’s top priorities for the year ahead?
Progress towards the three million high quality apprenticeships target will be a major focus, as will the National Living Wage and our work to increase productivity across the UK.
What film do you hope to watch over the festive period – and what’s the best game to play with the family on Christmas Day?
Star Wars. Charades are always fun, but really anything except Monopoly – which is not a game of Christmas spirit.
Perm secs round-up 2015: Whitehall's top civil servants review the year – and look ahead to 2016