Cabinet Office director general Janet Hughes has announced she will be leaving the department shortly, with her loan from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs coming to an end.
Hughes, who joined the Cabinet Office as DG for reform and efficiency last June, said she will be taking a sabbatical to “reflect, regroup and work out what's next”.
Announcing her departure on LinkedIn, Hughes said: “I'm going to be leaving [the] Cabinet Office in a couple of weeks as my role here isn't going to be continuing when my loan from Defra comes to an end.
“It's been a huge pleasure and privilege working with colleagues here in Cabinet Office, across government and more widely on reform of the state. I've learned a huge amount and am proud to have played my small part in the important and difficult work of making the state work better for people.”
Hughes said her “lovely and brilliant” director colleagues Nick Kimber, Matthew Clarke and Emily Braid will continue to lead their teams and take forward work on test, learn and grow, the Office for Impact Economy, the Evaluation Taskforce, implementing changes to planning, performance and decision-making across government and reforming the civil service and wider public sector.
Hughes added: “I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has been kind enough to share their time, insights, expertise, collaboration and energy – there's some incredible work being done all over our country by people pushing at the boundaries, working together and making things work better despite all the challenges that can involve. I'll be cheering you all on from wherever I land next!”
Before moving to the Cabinet Office, Hughes was director of the Future Farming and Countryside Programme at Defra.