With the end of 2018 fast approaching, we asked the UK's top civil servants to look back at the year, outline their goals for 2019 – and tell us who they’d choose to turn on their town’s Christmas lights. The links on this list will go live as the articles are published in the run up to 2019.
Sir Mark Sedwill reflects on becoming cabinet secretary, dealing with Brexit and the Brilliant Civil Service in action
John Manzoni on 2018: The civil service has been buffeted from every angle but has admirably kept its course
Leslie Evans, Scottish Government permanent secretary, reflects on Scotland’s Year of Young People and the challenges of 2019
Welsh Government perm sec Dame Shan Morgan on future-proofing the civil service and getting a Tour de France champion to turn on the Christmas lights
NICS chief David Sterling on using renewable heat inquiry as a force for change, and why Captain Pugwash’s Tom the cabin boy is the patron saint of civil servants
Rowena Collins Rice, Attorney General’s Office DG, previews a year of problem solving ahead
Alex Aiken, executive director of government communications, on 2018’s GREAT birthday and John Buchan’s 39 steps to turn on Christmas lights
Chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies on a year of reaction, implementing the NHS plan and tackling childhood obesity
BEIS perm sec Alex Chisholm reflects on a year implementing the industrial strategy and honouring the memory of Jeremy Heywood
GDS chief Kevin Cunnington on building the digital, data and technology function across government and honouring Emmeline Pankhurst
Government commercial chief Gareth Rhys Williams reflects on the collapse of Carillion and boosting contract management in departments
DCMS perm sec Dame Sue Owen on commemorating World War One and changing secretary of state twice in 2018
National statistician John Pullinger on celebrating 50 years of the Government Statistical Service in 2018
Government property DG Mike Parsons reflects on a milestone year in the government’s ambitious estate reforms
Defra perm sec Clare Moriarty reviews the department’s powerhouse 2018 – from the 25-year environment plan to responding to the Salisbury incident
Government chief people officer Rupert McNeil on making changes to civil service learning, and developing the Civil Service Leadership Academy
DfE perm sec Jonathan Slater on how he’s putting teachers, social workers, parents, learners at the heart of its work
Infrastructure and Projects Authority chief executive Tony Meggs: ‘With a Spending Review on the horizon, it is a crucial time for new projects’
DfID chief Matthew Rycroft reflects on becoming a perm sec in 2018
NS&I chief Ian Ackerley: “There have been several changes to NS&I’s executive team and I have devoted a fair amount of time to attracting and recruiting new talent”
Insolvency Service chief Sarah Albon on how her team responded to the collapse of Carillion in 2018
Department for Transport perm sec Bernadette Kelly on the landmark airport vote in 2018
Innovate UK interim executive chair Ian Campbell on how to realise the opportunities of UK Research and Innovation in 2019
Ofqual chief Sally Collier on preparing to introduce T-Levels and asking a dancing double act to turn on the Christmas lights
DIT perm sec Antonia Romeo on getting the department ready to deliver under all Brexit scenarios in 2019
HM Land Registry chief Graham Farrant on the challenge of being a leader in 2018: “I fear that we are entering uncharted territory”
Environment Agency chair Emma Howard Boyd on helping keep communities safe from floods and working to adapt to climate change
DWP perm sec Peter Schofield reflects on his first year in the top job – from visiting HMP Norwich to implementing Universal Credit
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency chief executive Julie Lennard reaching a one billion transactions milestone in 2018
Auditor general Sir Amyas Morse on a year of landmark reports, from the BBC to Brexit
Jonathan Jones: “2018 has been a challenging year for all of us, not least in GLD”
FCO perm sec Sir Simon McDonald: “Speed is the hardest part of being a leader today: everything moves so fast that there’s too little time for reflection”
Intellectual Property Office chief exec Tim Moss reflects on the inspiration of the heroes of World War 1
Duncan Selbie on how Public Health England responded to incidents in 2017 – from the Novichok poisonings to the Grenfell Tower fire
ACAS chief Anne Sharp reflects on the increase in the number of disputes in 2018
Companies House chief Louise Smyth reflects on her first year with the weighty title of The Registrar and asking Tom Jones to lead a Christmas singalong
Treasury chief Charles Roxburgh: “Brunel illustrates how great engineering, and infrastructure can deliver prosperity to all regions of the UK.”
Government Equalities Office Hilary Spencer reflects on the introduction of gender pay gap reporting and other milestones in 2018
Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman looks ahead to implementing a new education inspection framework in 2019
Charity Commission chief Helen Stephenson: “Leading the commission through the safeguarding concerns in the sector that surfaced in February was challenging.”
National Archives keeper Jeff James on his plan to create a disruptive digital archive in 2019
Sir Philip Rutnam: Windrush exposed a number of significant issues and rightly brought the Home Office under intense scrutiny