Articles

As he leaves the civil service after 40 years, Sir Robert Devereux, outgoing permanent secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions, reflects on complicated projects, how to lead large organisations and facing select committees

With the end of 2017 fast approaching, we asked the UK's top civil servants to look back at the year, outline their goals for 2018 – and tell us what they cannot do Christmas without

Devereux to leave government after leading the department through controversial Universal Credit rollout 

MPs quiz three departmental chiefs on the role of special advisers – and the impact of briefings against civil servants

Department for Work and Pensions' top official tells MPs that his department "can't sit on an estate that's too big and not do something about it"

With the end of 2016 fast approaching, we asked the UK's top officials to look back at the year, outline their goals for 2017 – and shed some light on their festive favourites. Sir Robert Devereux, permanent secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions, takes part in our annual perm secs round-up...

 UK Statistics Authority "deeply concerned" about "unauthorised, widespread sharing of statistics before their publication"

With the end of 2015 in sight, we asked Whitehall's top officials to review the year, set out their priorities for 2016 – and shed some light on their festive plans. Robert Devereux, permanent secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions, takes part in our biggest ever perm secs round-up series...

DWP perm sec heaps praise on the department's operations team for finding efficiencies, while acknowledging staff can't "just pedal faster forever"

Robert Devereux

Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions

Robert Devereux

Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions

Cabinet secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood has intervened in a bid to end the political briefings against work and pensions permanent secretary Robert Devereux.

Robert Devereux, permanent secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), has said that a good news reporting culture among civil servants delivering Universal Credit (UC), was down to a  “let’s push through and get stuff done mentality” by managers.

Robert Devereux

Permanent Secretary, Department for Work and Pensions

Permanent Secretary, Department for Work and Pensions

Like his secretary of state Iain Duncan Smith, DWP permanent secretary Robert Devereux has a quiet manner. This cannot, however, conceal the vast scale and ambition of the organisational change and policy delivery projects that he’s pursuing. Matt Ross meets him.

Transport permanent secretary Robert Devereux has been a policymaker all his life – and now he leads the profession. He tells Matthew O’Toole that policymakers must listen to the frontline