Sir Derek Jones
Permanent Secretary of the Welsh Government
How did you tackle the biggest challenges facing your organisation in 2014?
2014 has been quite a year for Wales. The result of the Scottish referendum has put devolution and democracy right at the heart of political and public debate across the UK in a way that was almost unimaginable a few years ago. Making sure we have the capability needed to support our ministers in getting the right outcome for Wales in those inevitably complex negotiations has, of course, been a priority for me over the past months.
We also had the small matter of a NATO conference to contend with – the biggest gathering of world leaders ever to take place on UK soil. This demanded some very agile working with colleagues across government last year to make sure everything – from security to hospitality – went to plan. Hearing President Obama telling US citizens they should come to Wales to see the beauty of its landscape and the friendliness of its people was a really special moment for the whole country. All exciting stuff. But, as ever, the real challenge for us in 2014 was in continuing to deliver the ambitions set out in our Programme for Government. A clutch of recent indicators, including outstanding inward investment figures and our best ever GCSE results, show we’re making real progress.
What are your department’s top priorities in the last months before the general election?
Well, of course, we’re not a department and the Welsh Assembly elections don’t take place until 2016. That’s not to say the general election isn’t important in Wales, and there will obviously be areas of policy and service delivery – both devolved and non-devolved – where we will need to be in close touch with the UK departments up to and beyond the election itself. With the Assembly elections about a year and a half away, our focus is very much on making sure we deliver our Programme for Government commitments, sustaining and building on the tangible improvements for people and communities that we’ve already started to see.
What’s your favourite Christmas treat? And what makes you say: ‘Bah, humbug!’?
Coming from Wales, getting a bit wet is something I’m used to! For me, the biggest treat at Christmas is having some precious time in the fresh air. If the waves and weather are with me, I might even fit in some surfing on our fantastic Atlantic coast. I don’t tend to go in for ‘bah humbugging’ very much, but if there’s anything that can make me a bit Scrooge-like it’s probably the sight of Christmas cards and decorations on display in September.