Former chief medical officer Sally Davies hailed as civil service 'role model' in honours list

Civil service chief executive John Manzoni and Treasury solicitor Jonathan Jones also among those receiving awards


Photo: Louise Haywood-Schiefer

By Jonathan Owen

01 Jan 2020

Some of Britain’s top civil servants have been rewarded in the New Year Honours.

Professor Dame Sally Davies, the former chief medical officer, heads the list after being awarded the Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath.

“She is a role model for women leaders in science, medicine, and the civil service,” states the list of the 39 individuals, including a number of prominent civil servants, who have been given ‘high awards.’

Health secretary Matt Hancock commented: “Professor Dame Sally Davies had an extraordinary impact during her time as chief medical officer, including her revolutionary efforts in the fight against antimicrobial resistance and leading the UK’s response to recent health emergencies.”

He said: “I’m delighted her unfaltering determination to improve the nation’s health is being celebrated.”

Senior civil servants that have also been given top awards include a knighthood for John Manzoni, the civil service’s chief executive, who has been made Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath and is described in the list as “a champion of effective government.”

Jonathan Jones, Treasury solicitor and permanent secretary of the Government Legal Department and head of the Government Legal Profession, and NHS chief executive Simon Stevens have also received knighthoods.

They are among a significant number of civil servants who have been recognised for their public service.

Damehoods have been awarded to Melanie Dawes, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and Alison Saunders, former director of public prosecutions at the Crown Prosecution Service.

Other senior figures to have been made Dames include Cally Palmer, national cancer director, NHS England; Professor Sarah Whatmore, an environment and public policy expert at the University of Oxford and chair of Defra’s social science expert group; and Sharon White, former chief executive of Ofcom.

A total of 1,097 people have received an award – the lowest total for a New Year Honours list since 2012. Some 72% of recipients have “undertaken outstanding work in their communities” according to the Cabinet Office.

Some 556 women have been recognised, representing 51% of the total.

While 9% of recipients come from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background, this is significantly down on the 12% in the 2019 New Year Honours List.

The Cabinet Office also said 11% of awardees consider themselves to have a disability – up from 4% last year – and 3% of recipients identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender – down from 5% in the 2019 list.

Fourteen civil servants have been named Companions of the Order of the Bath (CB), an honour that recognises public servants.

They include Tamara Finkelstein, former director general, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Noel Lavery, permanent secretary, Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland Executive.

Other civil servants awarded CBs include:

  • Peter Betts, former director, international climate and energy, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
  • Katharine Braddick, director general, financial services, HM Treasury
  • Lindy Cameron, former director general, country programmes, Department for International Development
  • Sarah Davidson, former director general, organisational development and operations, Scottish Government
  • Nicholas Dyer, director general, economic development and international, Department for International Development
  • Indra Morris, director general, children's social care, social mobility and disadvantage, Department for Education
  • Jeremy Pocklington, director general, housing, planning and building safety, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
  • Susannah Storey, director general, digital and media policy, DCMS
  • Clara Swinson, director general, global and public health, Department of Health and Social Care
  • Catherine Webb, director of operations, Treasury
  • David Williams, chief operating officer, Department of Health and Social Care

Elsewhere on the list, Catherine Adams, director, Government Legal Department; and Jonathan Hall, former foreign affairs private secretary, Prime Minister's Office, have been made Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George – an award for extraordinary and important services abroad or in the Commonwealth.

A number of civil servants have been named Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in recognition of their public service.

These include Natalie Black, former deputy head of No 10’s policy unit; Jack Jones, humanitarian programmes manager, Department for International Development; and Lyn Romeo, the government’s chief social worker. Care minister Caroline Dinenage commented: “Lyn Romeo has worked tirelessly to raise the profile of social work and social care, making a real difference to people’s lives across the UK, and I want to congratulate her.”

Other civil servants made CBEs include:

  • Amanda Brooks, director, trade remedies, access and controls, Department for International Trade
  • Teresa Clarke, prison group director, West Midlands, HM Prison and Probation Service
  • Andrea Coscelli, chief executive, Competition and Markets Authority
  • Jonson Cox, chair, Ofwat
  • Gabrielle Edwards, deputy director, chemicals, pesticides and hazardous waste, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
  • Alastair Hamilton, chief executive, Invest NI
  • Katharine Hammond, director, Cabinet Office
  • Glynne Jones, director, Office of the Secretary of State for Wales
  • Richard Las, deputy director, HM Revenue and Customs
  • Helen Lederer, deputy director corporate services, Prime Minister's Office
  • Dr Paul Lelliott, former deputy chief inspector of hospitals, Care Quality Commission
  • James Parkes, director, Her Majesty's Coastguard
  • Damian Parmenter, chief of staff to the defence secretary
  • Graham Pendlebury, director, local transport, Department for Transport
  • Brendan Threlfall, deputy director, Northern Ireland and Ireland, Cabinet Office
  • Emma Ward, former director, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
  • Kay Withers, policy director, Northern Ireland Office

A significant number of civil servants were made Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), such as Dr Joanne Bailey, head of psychology services, HM Prison and Probation Service, for services to forensic psychology, offender rehabilitation and public safety.

Dr Norman Govan, a technical expert within the chemical, biological and radiological division at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory was also recognised, as was Louise Proctor, head of the National Careers Service at the Education Skills and Funding Agency.

Eileen Milner, ESFA’s chief executive said: “Louise should be very proud of her outstanding achievements. She has dedicated her entire career to supporting people to improve their circumstances and life chances and played a pivotal role in establishing a successful National Careers Service where every £1 spent by the service benefits the economy by £17.”

Another individual who was recognised was Florence Davies, head of director general office and policy profession lead, Department for Education.

Jonathan Slater, DfE permanent secretary, congratulated all those who have received awards. “It’s important that people nominate that amazing person in their life who goes above and beyond so we can celebrate their achievements,” he added.

Other civil servants who received OBEs include

  • John Banks, government lawyer
  • René Barclay, former principal crown advocate, special crime division, Crown Prosecution Service
  • Dr Michael Bingham, policy lead, National Planning Policy Framework
  • Emma Bourne, director, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
  • Christopher Brereton, chief environmental health officer, Welsh Government
  • Professor Ian Brown, head of virology, Animal and Plant Health Agency
  • Andrew Browne, secretary, Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry
  • Ian Cole, business development director, Defence Electronics and Components Agency
  • Georgina Collins, lead, chemical incident recovery, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
  • Christian Cook, Ministry of Defence
  • Miles Coverdale, former private secretary, Cabinet Office
  • Ian Davidson, former head of agricultural policy division, Scottish Government
  • Alan Digman, former IT security officer, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
  • Charlotte Dring, project lead, Beyond Whitehall project, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
  • Helga Edstrom, senior policy adviser, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
  • Simon Everest, director, Department for International Trade
  • Iain Everett, head of delivery for royal and VIP protective security, Office for Security and Counter Terrorism, Home Office
  • Andrew Falvey, commercial director, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
  • John Foggo, head, UK chemical weapons convention national authority, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
  • Agnes Head, HMRC payment card services
  • Olive Hill, executive director, Invest Northern Ireland.
  • Jeannette Howe, head of pharmacy, Department of Health and Social Care
  • Dr Ian Hudson, former chief executive, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency
  • Major Kim Humberstone, deputy director, financial reporting and control, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
  • Julie Jarvis, head, commercial engagement and development, HM Revenue and Customs
  • Mark Jenkins, Ministry of Defence
  • Susan Johnson, former head of safety, security and business resilience, Ministry of Defence
  • Gabrielle Lee, governor, HM Prison and Young Offender Institution Low Newton
  • Suzanne Lehrer, senior lawyer, Government Legal Service
  • Timothy Losty, director, Northern Ireland Bureau China
  • Struan Macdonald, assistant head, Russia and Central Asia, Directorate of Euro-Atlantic Security Policy
  • Lyn McDonald, director, fraud, debt and grants functions, Cabinet Office
  • Antonia Moss, private secretary to the cabinet secretary.
  • Emma Payne, former deputy director, higher education, Department for Education
  • Andrea Pearson, head of international rail, Department for Transport.
  • Kathleen Richardson, senior manager, child protection team, National Crime Agency
  • Marian Sudbury, director, UK regions, Department for International Trade
  • Richard Teuten, former head of international financial institutions department, Department for International Development
  • Andrew Trotter, Ministry of Defence
  • Matthew Ward, programme manager, Ministry of Defence.
  • Graham Wilkinson, senior manager, equality, interventions and operational practice group, HM Prison and Probation Service
  • Alexander Williams, deputy director, industrial strategy, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
  • David Willis, former senior finance business partner, Department for Work and Pensions
  • Charles Yates, head of threat leadership, insights, partnership and delivery, National Crime Agency
  • Hannah Yusuf-George, deputy director, DCMS

Civil servants awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE):

  • Mumtaz Ali, work coach, Sparkhill Jobcentre Plus, Department for Work and Pensions
  • Helen Baden, policy lead for professional and business services, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
  • Nicola Brindley, work coach, work services directorate, Department for Work and Pensions
  • Stephen Brown, officer in charge, Joint Casualty, Compassionate and Commemorative Centre, Ministry of Defence
  • Sally Chakawhata, policy and programme officer, Department for International Development
  • Paula Dawson, deputy principal, finance and governance manager, Northern Ireland Executive
  • Naomi Eales, operations officer, National Crime Agency
  • Julie Farrow, project and policy adviser, civil nuclear security and safety, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
  • Ann Ford, former head of hospital inspections, Care Quality Commission
  • Sonia Gharyal, policy lead, Office of Security and Counter Terrorism, Home Office
  • Parveen Hassan, inclusion and community engagement manager, Crown Prosecution Service.
  • Kelly Hegarty, Ministry of Defence.
  • Annette Henley, lead engineer for infrastructure, National Communications Data Service, Home Office
  • Vicky Jeffers, group partnership manager, north west group partnership team, work services Directorate, Department for Work and Pensions
  • Gordon Knight, planning and risks manager, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
  • Amanda Lane, team leader, Department for Transport
  • Elizabeth Lonsdale, head of corporate governance and secretary to the board, Treasury
  • Keith Mackiggan, UN reform lead, Department for International Development
  • Kay Maddieson, Northern Ireland Office
  • Carole Martin, pay and reward specialist, HM Revenue and Customs
  • Martin McKay-Smith, training principal, Crown Prosecution Service
  • Rebekah Mitchell, executive personal assistant, Environment Agency
  • Kim O'Neill, paralegal officer, special crime unit, Crown Prosecution Service
  • Deborah Pennington, higher executive officer, Office for Security and Counter Terrorism, Home Office
  • Lesley Richardson, private secretary to director general resources, Defence Equipment and Support
  • Emma Southard, diary manager to cabinet secretary
  • Jennifer Stevenson, senior officer, national safeguarding and modern slavery, Border Force, Home Office
  • Catherine Tomlin, sustainable business and development manager, Environment Agency
  • John Topping, Ministry of Defence
  • Paul Waller, Ministry of Defence
  • Patricia Wilkinson, senior officer, HM Revenue and Customs
  • Janet Zamornii, senior executive officer, work services directorate, Department for Work and Pensions

Civil servants made medallists of the Order of the British Empire:

  • Andrew Carroll, senior executive officer, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
  • Sara Crawford, inspector, employment agency standards inspectorate, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
  • Stephen Groom, deputy head, physical and personnel security, Department for International Development
  • Nicholas Gupta, former director for Wessex, Environment Agency
  • David Hastings, inspector and chair, LGBT+ network, Care Quality Commission
  • Victoria Hind, Ministry of Defence
  • Tony Hitching, team leader, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
  • Christopher Lamb, for services to charity and to the Civil Service Lifeboat Fund
  • Kenneth Logan, for services to the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland and the community in Edinburgh
  • Bernard McCullagh, staff officer, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland Executive
  • Alison Mullan, security guard, Health and Social Care Board, Belfast
  • Rita Patel, correspondence officer, HM Treasury
  • Paramjit Sandhu, immigration officer, Home Office
  • Lynda Storey, executive officer, pay and allowances, HM Prison Service Headquarters
  • Sandie Tracey, for services to the Department for Work and Pensions and to the community in the London Borough of Southwark

Overseas honours

In addition to the honours given by the Queen, a number of honours are also bestowed by the foreign secretary.

Civil servants dominate the diplomatic service and overseas list of honours.

Sir Simon McDonald, the Foreign Office permanent secretary and head of the diplomatic service, said: “I congratulate everyone receiving an honour and thank them for their hard work and years of service.”

Philip Barton, director general, consular and security, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has received a knighthood, while Ciaran Martin, chief executive, National Cyber Security Centre, has been made a Companion of the Order of the Bath.

A number of senior officials have been made Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George:

  • Lindsay Appleby, director general, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Christopher Barton, former director, multilateral European negotiations directorate, Department for International Trade
  • Peter Curwen, former director, economic and financial affairs, UK Representation to the European Union, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Nic Hailey, former High Commissioner, Nairobi, Kenya
  • Laurence Lee, director, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Scott Livingstone, director, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Michael Llamas QC, attorney general, Gibraltar
  • John Tucknott, deputy head of mission, British Embassy Baghdad, Iraq
  • Kate White, director Asia Pacific, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

OBEs

  • James Adams, team leader, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Martin Comer, departmental historian
  • Colin Dick, deputy director, EU Exit strategy department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Fergus Eckersley, counsellor, UK Permanent Representation to the European Union, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Timothy Flear, former HM consul general, Milan, Italy, and director, Italy, Department for International Trade
  • Philippa Makepeace, head, consular assistance department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Qudsi Rasheed, head of sanctions unit and deputy director multilateral policy, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Philip Shone, team leader, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Nicola Smith, legal counsellor, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Michael Tout, team leader, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Katherine Ward, HM Ambassador, Quito, Ecuador

MBEs

  • Robert Cashmore, head of investment, British Embassy Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Charles E Clifford, director, customs and border control, the Cayman Islands
  • Mark Collins, first secretary, UK Permanent Representation to the European Union, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Robert Cooper, desk officer, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Ann Cormack, member of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office audit and risk assurance committee
  • Davina Crole, international media officer, press office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Annette Ellis, desk officer, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Edgar Garrett, desk officer, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Philippa Greenwood, Tunisia memorial lead, crisis management department, consular directorate, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Neale Jones, consular regional operations manager, British Embassy Baku, Azerbaijan Peter Jones, British consular warden, Livingstone, Zambia
  • Natalie Lockwood, desk officer, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Kelly Mason, former vice consul, British High Commission, Nairobi, Kenya
  • James McLaughlin, head, EU exit negotiations and engagement team, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Thomas McKinley, former team leader, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Richard Powell, senior trade and investment officer, Department for International Trade, New York, USA
  • Neil Rudge, desk officer, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Jillian Tay, vice consul, British High Commission Accra, Ghana

British Empire Medal

  • Stephen Buff, desk officer, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Luc George, senior security officer, UK Permanent Representation to the European Union
  • Paul Harmer, desk officer, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Winifred J Lane, senior nurse tutor & nurse lecturer, Gibraltar Health Authority and School of Health Studies, Gibraltar
  • Angela Tromans, defence transits manager, British Embassy Cairo, Egypt

Have we missed any civil servants recognised in the New Year's Honours? Please let us know in the form below.

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