What was your highlight of 2025?
Undoubtedly, my 70th birthday celebration was the highlight of my year. It was wonderful to bring together people from all parts of my life – my family, from England and Germany, friends from parliament and politics as well as from my work as first civil service commissioner and chair of Wilton Park. I held a party in the Churchill Room in the House of Commons and had drinks on the terrace. People really enjoyed walking through an empty Westminster Hall on a Saturday evening – aware of just how special that place is.
A professional highlight was the extension of the commission’s remit in October. Following the closure of Acoba, we now also advise on applications from senior civil servants under the government’s business appointment rules – bringing together entry into and exit from civil service roles.
What was the hardest part of being a leader in 2025?
The commission is a critical friend to the civil service, overseeing recruitment to make sure it has the best people with the skills necessary to serve the government of the day. To be a good regulator, we must be proportionate, predictable and act at pace.
Like others who chair arms-length bodies – with a board of talented people from different backgrounds and a small staff – I think it’s important to build and retain institutional memory. Board members are appointed for five-year terms and staff inevitably develop and move on. As first civil service commissioner, it’s my role to make sure that we act collectively and coherently with a shared strategic vision even when the people change.
What are the main challenges facing your department in the coming year?
The commission’s remit now includes overseeing recruitment into the civil service, acting as the appeal body for complaints under the Civil Service Code and advising the most senior civil servants on applications under the business appointments rules. We are part of the complex patchwork of checks and balances in our system of government. Elections, changes in the machinery of government, and reshuffles all impact our work significantly.
Explaining our role and making sure it is understood especially when staff or ministers move or change is a constant challenge. The system always works best when ministers and civil servants work together – and when both understand their powers as well as their constraints.
Which celebrity or historical figure would you choose to turn on the Christmas lights in your town – and why?
Sir Austin Chamberlain in Birmingham – who won the Nobel Peace Prize 100 years ago this year. He was awarded the prize for his crucial role in the Locarno Treaties, which aimed to secure peace in western Europe.
Read all the entries to this year's perm secs round up here