John-Paul Marks

Marks joined the UK civil service in 2004. In HM Treasury, he served as the Speechwriter to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Marks spent much of his career before the Scottish Government at the Department for Work and Pensions, latterly as Director General. He served as Principal Private Secretary to Yvette Cooper and Iain Duncan Smith, and was Private Secretary to Mike O'Brien among other roles.^[5]

Marks was appointed as the Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government on 1 January 2022. At the time of his appointment, Marks was said to be "committed to building a world-class, values-led civil service which excels in serving the public".^[6] Upon commencement as Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government, he assumed the role of leading the Scottish Government civil service, ensuring it delivers the "full range of devolved powers and duties set out in the Scotland Acts". As the principal accountable officer for the Scottish Government, he is primarily responsible and accountable to the Scottish Parliament for the exercise of his responsibilities as Permanent Secretary.^[7]

As Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government, he was responsible for more than 7,000 civil servants working for the Scottish Government in Scotland, as well as other locations including Europe, North America and Asia. As Permanent Secretary, Marks was responsible for the development, implementation and communication of government policies.^[7]

In April 2025, Marks was appointed Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive at HM Revenue and Customs.^[8]

Marks is married with two children.^[9] He currently resides in Scotland.^[7] He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to Welfare Reform.^[10]