Richard Heaton
Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office
How did you tackle the biggest challenges facing your organisation in 2014?
I’ll start with what may seem quite an internal one: our own technology. Civil servants in the Cabinet Office did not have the right IT tools to do their jobs. So we’ve been building a solution that aims to provide staff with technology at least as good as they have at home. This means fast, modern laptops and smartphones and the best commercial cloud application. We are bringing digital and technology skills back in-house to make sure we don’t fall behind again. Staff are allowed to choose their technology to make sure it works for them. The idea is that technology will enable Cabinet Office people to work anywhere and to collaborate in real time, with each other and with the world beyond Whitehall. And... it’s cheaper.
The Scotland referendum in September was a colossal constitutional event. We had a role explaining the UK government’s position, which was that the United Kingdom, as a successful and prosperous union of nations, was a partnership worth preserving. But we have also led the work since the referendum, to meet the parties’ commitments on further devolution to Scotland, and to create proposals in line with the prime minister’s commitment to a fair and balanced settlement for all parts of the UK.
What are your department’s priorities in the last months before the general election?
There’s still plenty to do, to ensure the continuing success of commitments like National Citizen Service, and to embed new capabilities such as data science and open policy-making. It’s also a time when we have very important constitutional responsibilities for the general election itself, involving the secure and accurate register of voters, with proper support to electoral administrators and returning officers – and, let’s hope, a population actively engaged in the democratic process.
We’ve also promised action to create a civil service that’s more inclusive of talent from all backgrounds and sections of society. We must follow through.
What’s your favourite Christmas treat? And what makes you say: ‘Bah, humbug!’?
Panto at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern is a treat. That might do as an answer to the second part as well.