CSW’s perm secs round-up for 2024 provided insight from leaders across government looking back on a year of historic change.
The full round-up is well worth a visit – check out all the entries here – but here is a flavour of some of the themes and highlights.
Leadership in 2024
“Being a HR leader in 2024 is very different from when I joined the profession in the ‘90s. I have now given my age away! The expectation of people from their work has evolved dramatically and the civil service has to continue to adapt to recruit talent, retain those already in the service and ensure we are a great place to work for everyone.”
Fiona Ryland, chief people officer
“I feel incredibly privileged every day to have taken on this role in 2024. We are at a unique point in time, with a huge opportunity to shape the future of the civil service and deliver for our new government. I have loved working with colleagues in this new role to support delivery and change.”
Cat Little, Cabinet Office
Missions
“I’ve been really proud of all we’ve done to start work on the Opportunity mission, and to set really clear goals to help break the link between background and success – it couldn’t be more important, and touches on something at the heart of good public service, which is to make sure our services work best for those that need them most.”
Susan Acland-Hood, DfE
“The vision for the civil service is clear – working collectively as one behind shared missions. Using a mixture of core skills, we can ensure successful delivery while staying true to the values that define the civil service.”
Sam Ulyatt, Crown Commercial Service
“By prioritising missions, we have saved 20% in the cost of cross-government comms this year while increasing spending on priority campaigns by nearly 40%.”
Simon Baugh, Government Communications
Challenges for 2025
“We’ve done the easy bit of missions – getting people enthused – and now we have to build really big relationships that can endure through hard choices and the tests that come with practical delivery.”
Susan Acland-Hood, Department for Education
“Delivery and implementation has to be at the heart of the year ahead... whether it is delivering change for the civil service or better outcomes for citizens, we have to translate government ambition into practical reality and sustain our efforts into the medium term.”
Cat Little, Cabinet Office
“Equality issues are seldom out of the public eye and receive vast amounts of media attention. So it’s a racing certainty that some issues on which we will need to focus over the next year will be things we had not predicted!”
Marcus Bell, Office for Equalities and Opportunity
“I want to do more to attract the best skills from every region in the UK to deliver on the government’s priorities. I recognise this will mean changing the way we recruit, as well as ensuring the civil service brand is strong to continue to attract external talent and retain the brilliant people already working here. This is not easy, but with a fantastic team we are already exploring what more we can do on apprenticeships and speeding up recruitment to make positive changes.”
Fiona Ryland, chief people officer
A welcome break from crises
“2024 offered modest respite from the sequence of crises of recent years, all of which have affected the NAO’s work in significant ways. So, the biggest challenge was the more familiar one to all public service leaders: achieving the high performance standards expected of us within the resources available and helping our colleagues navigate the inevitable operational challenges. In our case, this year’s curveball was the timing of the general election squarely in our busiest season for auditing government accounts.”
Gareth Davies, National Audit Office
Transition to a new government
“Just as a change of government is an exciting thing to be part of, it can also really test the resilience of staff who are adapting to new policy and new ways of working. Some of that was tough for people but I am happy to say MHCLG was very professional throughout.”
Sarah Healey, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
“The way in which I saw civil servants and lawyers across Whitehall working right up to the wire to do their best for the last government, then demonstrate their impartiality and capability by immediately pivoting to give their all for a newly elected government of a different political stripe. This is the way mature democracies under the rule of law behave. Having lived and worked in other countries and seen things done differently, I no longer ever take it for granted – and think our political leaders from all sides ought to be given more credit for it too.”
Douglas Wilson, Attorney General's Office
“In our system, changes of government don’t happen very often! In quite a long career, I have only experienced them on two occasions – in 1997 and 2010. While experiences like that can help you understand some of what is required, there are always surprises... Psychologically, you need to be ready to abandon quite a lot of the work you were doing before, which is not always easy. Policies, personalities, priorities and language can all change at the drop of a hat, but my team managed the changes and also the inevitable uncertainties very well.”
Marcus Bell, OEO
“The election saw a significant addition to our responsibilities, with colleagues in the Cabinet Office leading work on digital, data and AI across government joining the department. Even though machinery of government changes can mean a lot of work, this one has been a massive highlight for me. This means we are now at the forefront of shaping the digital future of government, bringing together expertise and resources to create a centralised Digital Centre of Government. I love the work we are doing and the chance to work with digital and data professionals across HMG. Difficult problems and brilliant teams to work with are what get me up in the morning, so I am happy!”
Sarah Munby, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Collaboration
“The next year will require us to continue our transformation of data. Using new methods and data and excellent collaboration both within and outside of ONS will be critical.”
Sir Ian Diamond, national statistician
“It is hard to select one highlight -- but ensuring the return of the Northern Ireland Executive was by far the most pressing objective and one that, happily, was met in February. I was proud not just of the excellent work of the NIO, but of the genuine collaboration and team effort across Whitehall. We can do great things when we work together.”
Julie Harrison, Northern Ireland Office