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. Civil service chief executive and Cabinet Office permanent secretary John Manzoni takes part in our biggest-ever perm secs' round-up series...
How did you tackle the biggest challenges facing your organisation in 2015?
I should begin by paying tribute to civil servants right across the UK who have worked so hard to deliver the government’s priorities this year. We have successfully transitioned to a new government, and have now settled a direction and resources for the next few years; all while still delivering excellent public service. This has taken real teamwork, commitment and talent and deserves to be recognised.
What are your department’s top priorities in the year ahead?
I have four priorities, which support those of the cabinet secretary:
First: people and skills. We must continue to build our skills within the civil service, in particular around commercial, technology and project leadership. Continuing to build our diversity becomes imperative as we compete for the best skills.
Second: how the centre of government works with the departments, and in particular how the functions support delivery. We need to continuously improve our services, while at the same time making them more efficient.
Third: implementation and execution. Our challenging departmental plans will require extraordinary focus and attention over the next few years. We need to build our capabilities to deliver our commitments.
And finally: leadership. We must continue to embed our leadership statement, and live our values. We have a complex agenda and it will take substantial leadership at all levels in our organisation.
My ambition is that we transform public services through a more unified and collaborative civil service, working smarter to get things done better.
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?
Actually we are skiing over the break, which means I will watch whatever movie is on at the local cinema where we are going!
As for games, Christmas is the one time when as a family, we do jigsaw puzzles. I find them remarkably relaxing, and we often find ourselves all together around a puzzle searching for the pieces we need...
Perm secs round-up 2015: Whitehall's top civil servants review the year – and look ahead to 2016