Sir Chris Wormald named as new cabinet secretary and head of civil service
The prime minister picked Sir Chris Wormald, the Department for Health’s long-serving permanent secretary, to take over from Simon Case, who was appointed by Boris Johnson in 2020
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Your support makes all the difference.Sir Keir Starmer has appointed Sir Chris Wormald as his cabinet secretary, Britain’s most senior civil service position.
The prime minister picked Sir Chris, the Department for Health’s long-serving permanent secretary, to take over from Simon Case, who was appointed by Boris Johnson in 2020.
The major appointment comes ahead of Sir Keir’s first relaunch since taking office five months ago, with the beleaguered prime minister to set out his “plan for change”.
As part of the PM’s new agenda, Sir Chris will be tasked with pushing through an overhaul of Whitehall to focus it on Labour’s priorities for government - boosting the economy, cutting NHS waiting times, public safety, energy security and social mobility.
Unveiling the appointment, Sir Keir thanked Mr Case for his service and said he was “delighted” Sir Chris had taken the role.
“He brings a wealth of experience to this role at a critical moment in the work of change this new government has begun,” Sir Keir added.
Ahead of his relaunch, which comes after months of Labour declining in the polls, the prime minister said: “To change this country, we must change the way government serves this country... from breaking down silos across government to harnessing the incredible potential of technology and innovation, it will require nothing less than the complete rewiring of the British state to deliver bold and ambitious long-term reform.
“Delivering this scale of change will require exceptional civil service leadership. There could be no-one better placed to drive forward our plan for change than Chris.”
Sir Chris was made the Department for Health’s top civil servant in May 2016. He has previously held a series of top Whitehall posts, including as the Department for Education’s permanent secretary, director general in the deputy prime minister’s office and head of the economic and domestic secretariat in the Cabinet Office .
He will take up the new post when Mr Case, who was diagnosed with a neurological condition last year, steps down on December 16.
Sir Chris said: “I am delighted that the prime minister has appointed me to the privileged role of leading our talented civil service, as we rise to the challenge of delivering the government’s focused agenda to deliver its plan for change.
“The government has set a clear mandate – an ambitious agenda with working people at its heart. That will require each and every one of us to embrace the change agenda in how the British state operates.
“So I look forward to working with leaders across government, to ensure that the civil service has the skills they need to deliver across the breadth of the country.”
Sir Chris made headlines last year when the Covid inquiry was shown evidence that he was part of a group of powerful officials discussing the virus as like chickenpox as late as mid-March 2020.
The new cabinet secretary, in a discussion with one of his predecessors Lord Sedwill, said “yes exactly” when it was suggested to him that “like chickenpox we want people to get it and develop herd immunity before the next wave”.
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