Permanent Secretary, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
What are you most proud of achieving during 2011?
I am proud of what Defra has done in 2011 to ensure a more sustainable future for Britain and the world. The highlight for me was the Natural Environment White Paper - the first for 20 years - and National Ecosystems Assessment (NEA) report. The groundbreaking research in the NEA shows the strong economic arguments for safeguarding and enhancing our natural environment.
I am proud of our innovation in how we deliver - for example, in the plans we have to move British Waterways to a new charity, and the way the Environment Agency and local authorities are pursuing partnership funding for flood risks to bring extra funds into this important work.
I was really pleased that in the chancellor's Autumn Statement we secured a package of measures to stimulate growth in rural areas - opening up access to superfast broadband, investing in rural growth networks, and helping farmers to put redundant farm buildings to good alternative business uses.
How has the shape and structure of the department changed during 2011?
We need to become smaller and more agile to respond to the changes around us. So weíve grasped the opportunity to rethink how we brigade our people, what we focus on and how we work. We've got good experience of how to work flexibly, but need to up our game given the challenges.
We're overhauling our top structures, with a new focus on delivery and operational efficiency, excellence in international and European work, and a bigger focus on the customer. We are designing teams that allow more joined-up thinking and less hierarchy. Of course, getting the structure right is only part of the picture, and weíll work to support the new ways of working, behaviours and culture weíll need to demonstrate.
What is the most important thing the department must achieve during 2012?
We must turn our commitments into reality on the ground, even when that means some tough choices and some risks. We have staff and delivery partners passionate about our agenda, and keen to make a difference. So for me, itís creating a department that is confident and focused on delivering this potential.
How is the civil service likely to change during 2012?
It is going to be a tough year for us all. We need to pull together, focus on whatís important and be more open. That means working more actively across government and with our wider partners, and resisting the temptation to turn inwards.
An important symbol of this is the Olympics. Itís a chance to show the rest of the world what we are capable of achieving together - from sporting heroism to a sustainable legacy.
Which historical, mythological or contemporary figure would you most like to join for Christmas dinner?
I'd invite Roy Baty, the intelligent and calculating leader of the Nexus 6 replicant group in the film Bladerunner. You have to watch the film to understand why I've chosen him.