The UK's top civil servants describe their highlights of 2025 and tell us about the hardest part of being a leader over the last 12 months. They also set out the main challenges facing their organisations in the coming year – and how they are planning to meet them.
It has been another tough year for civil service leaders, but there have been achievements to celebrate too. In the 2025 edition of CSW's annual perm secs roundup, permanent secretaries and leaders across government reflect on an eventful year and share their goals for the next one. Plus, we ask them to tell us which celebrity or historical figure they would choose to turn on the Christmas lights in their town and why.