Permanent secretary (United Kingdom)

When Lord Grey took office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1830, Sir John Barrow was especially requested to continue serving as Secretary in his department (the Admiralty), starting the principle that senior civil servants stay in office on change of government and serve in a non-partisan manner. It was during Barrow's occupancy of the post that it was renamed permanent secretary.^[4][5]

The permanent secretary, who in some but not all government departments is known formally as the permanent under-secretary of state, is the accounting officer for a department, meaning that they are answerable to Parliament for ensuring that the department appropriately spends money granted by Parliament. Permanent secretaries are thus frequently called for questioning by the Public Accounts Committee and select committees of the House of Commons. The permanent secretary usually chairs a department's management board which consists of executive members (other civil servants in the department) and non-executive directors. In the 1970s, the permanent secretary to Tony Benn when he was Secretary of State for Industry was Peter Carey. After Benn spent government money on worker cooperatives, notably Meriden Motorcycle Co-operative, Carey went before the Public Accounts Committee and expressed the opinion that his minister's expenditure had been ultra vires.^{[citation needed]} Benn was soon moved to the Department of Energy, while Carey received a knighthood in the following honours list.

Some larger departments also have a second permanent secretary who acts as deputy. In the early 1970s, in a major reorganisation of Whitehall, many smaller ministries were amalgamated into larger departments. Following this reorganisation, virtually all departments had second permanent secretaries for a time, though this is no longer as common.

The most senior civil servant is the Cabinet Secretary, currently Dame Antonia Romeo; the officeholder is normally also the Head of the Civil Service. The holder of this office is distinct from other officials of permanent secretary rank within the Cabinet Office. By convention, the Prime Minister is Minister for the Civil Service and as such makes regulations regarding the service and has authority over it. These duties are delegated to the Minister for the Cabinet Office.

Permanent secretaries are usually created Knights/Dames Commander of the Order of the Bath after five or more years of service in the grade, or on retirement if not already holding the title (although Permanent Secretaries of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are usually created Knights/Dames Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George instead). The most senior permanent secretaries, such as the Cabinet Secretary, may be created Knights/Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, and even be given a life peerage after retirement. For salary comparison purposes, the permanent secretary is deemed broadly equivalent to a general and to a High Court judge.

Below is a list of the individuals in the UK government at the grade of permanent secretary.^[6] Some departments are currently led by persons that do not hold the rank of Permanent Secretary or do not have a civil service executive at all; these have not been included.

• His Majesty's Civil Service
• His Majesty's Diplomatic Service
• List of undersecretary positions
• Parliamentary private secretary
• Parliamentary under-secretary of state
• Permanent secretary
• Principal Secretary (disambiguation)
• Private secretary
• Undersecretary
• Yes Minister, a satirical examination of the role of permanent secretaries