With the end of 2017 fast approaching, we asked the UK's top civil servants to look back at the year, outline their goals for 2018 – and tell us what they cannot do Christmas without
What are you most proud of achieving in 2017?
I was very pleased earlier this year to welcome the legal teams advising the Department for International Trade and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy into the Government Legal Department. This means that we now provide the full range of legal services for almost all central government departments. It also means we can respond nimbly to changes in priorities and levels of demand for our services, which has never been more important than now, given the huge and varied legal issues facing the government.
On a personal level, I finally took the plunge and stepped into the world of Twitter as @PermSecGLD…
What was your most difficult decision in 2017?
Naturally I’ve advised on lots of very difficult decisions. For GLD the biggest challenge has been meeting the growing and competing demands for our services I’ve mentioned, and responding to events like the Grenfell Tower incident. But of course that’s what we’re here for.
What are your department’s top priorities in the year ahead?
As you’d expect, the main priority will continue to be Brexit, given the vast range of complex and unprecedented legal and constitutional issues it raises. But we’ll also keep striving to provide the best possible legal support for all the government’s priorities, as well as improving and investing in our services.
For you, no Christmas holiday is complete without...
Christmas music. And my phone, to listen to the music, and tweet: “Merry Christmas to everyone in GLD!”