The Department for Education’s school attendance team won the Prime Minister’s Award for Exceptional Public Service at last night’s 20th anniversary special Civil Service Awards.
The team, whose work helped to recover more than 5 million days of attendance in one year, was among 12 winners at last night’s glitzy ceremony, which celebrates excellence across government.
Other winners included Shahida Mamanji, who has spent 32 years at the Home Office and picked up the Cabinet Secretary’s Outstanding Leader Award. The judges said Shahida's work "has revolutionised case management for foreign national offenders in the community". By creating dedicated decision-making teams and introducing new methodologies, she increased deportation decisions by 120% and achieved the highest-ever number of enforced removals from the community.
The Home Office, which received seven nominations – the most of any department – came out on top in two categories, with Tracie Jackson picking up the Lifetime Achievement Award for the nearly four decades she has dedicated to transforming border security and canine detection in the UK.
The Rising Star Award went to Faeeza Jabeen, an official at the Department for Work and Pensions who was credited by judges with "revitalising" the Movement to Work programme, which helps employers deliver employability opportunities for young people aged 16-30 facing barriers to work. They said her "innovative thinking, strategic alignment and ability to inspire change showcase her emerging leadership potential and lasting impact on improving opportunities for disadvantaged young people".
The new 20th anniversary special People’s Choice Award, voted for by more than 5,000 civil servants, was won by HM Revenue and Customs' Borders and Trade CHIEF decommissioning team. The programme had lost out to the Cabinet Office's One Public Estate in the Programme of the Year award, but won the popular vote where civil servants could choose from any person, team or programme nominated for an award this year.
Here is the list of Civil Service Awards winners in full:
Prime Minister’s Award for Exceptional Public Service – School Attendance Team, Department for Education
Developing and Supporting People Award – Neil Osliffe, Department for Work and Pensions
Innovator Award – Splink Team, Ministry of Justice
Excellence in Delivery Award – BOLD Programme – North Essex Probation Delivery Unit Case Information Dashboard, Ministry of Justice
Delivering for Citizens Award – AI Diagnostic Fund Programme, Department of Health and Social Care
Programme of the Year – One Public Estate, Cabinet Office
Evaluation and Analysis Award – US Tariff Analysis, HM Treasury and Department for Business and Trade
Collaboration Award – Air India 171 crash response, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Department for Transport
Lifetime Achievement Award – Tracie Jackson, Home Office
Rising Star Award – Faeeza Jabeen, Department for Work and Pensions
Cabinet Secretary’s Outstanding Leader Award – Shahida Mamanji, Home Office
People’s Choice Award – Borders and Trade CHIEF decommissioning team, HMRC
More details of the winners here