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Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence

Office in the UK Ministry of Defense

Summary

Office in the UK Ministry of Defense

FieldValue
insigniaCoat of arms of the United Kingdom (2022, lesser arms).svg
insigniacaptionRoyal Arms as used by His Majesty's Government
departmentMinistry of Defence
postPermanent Under-Secretary for Defence
incumbentDavid Williams
imageDavid Williams.png
incumbentsinceApril 2021
appointerPrime Minister
inauguralHenry Hardman
formation1963
reports_toSecretary of State for Defence
Cabinet Secretary
member_ofDefence Council
Defence Board
Defence Audit and Risk Assurance Committee
People Committee
Investment Approvals Committee
Executive Committee
stylePermanent Secretary
salarySCS Pay Band 4
seatMinistry of Defence, London
deputySecond Permanent Secretary

Cabinet Secretary Defence Board Defence Audit and Risk Assurance Committee People Committee Investment Approvals Committee Executive Committee The permanent under-secretary of state for defence, also called the permanent secretary to the Ministry of Defence, is the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Defence. The office holder is the government's principal civilian adviser on Defence matters. The office holder is a member of the Defence Council and the Defence Board. They are the MOD principal accounting officer, and are called to give evidence to the Defence Select Committee.

The position has existed in its current format since the formation of the modern Ministry of Defence in 1964. It was preceded by the permanent secretary at the earlier Ministry of Defence (1947–1964), and by the permanent secretaries at the government departments that were absorbed into the Ministry of Defence in 1964: the permanent secretary to the Admiralty, the permanent under-secretary of state for war, and the permanent secretary to the Air Ministry.

The current permanent secretary to the MOD is David Williams.

Responsibilities

  • Leading defence (with CDS);
  • Setting strategy for defence, including corporate strategy (subject to ministers’ direction, and together with CDS);
  • Heading the Department of State and the MOD Civil Service;
  • Providing policy advice to ministers and leading the relationship with other government departments;
  • The overall organisation, management and staffing of defence;
  • Performing the full range of Accounting Officer responsibilities, including the delegation of financial and other authority and accountability to senior colleagues, with personal accountability to Parliament for the economic, efficient and effective use of defence resources.

Permanent secretaries to the Ministry of Defence

1947–1964

The permanent secretaries at the earlier Ministry of Defence (1947–1964):

  • 1947: Sir Henry Wilson Smith
  • 1948: Sir Harold Parker
  • 1956: Sir Richard Powell
  • 1960: Sir Edward Playfair
  • 1961: Sir Robert Scott
  • 1964: Sir Henry Hardman

1964–present

  • Henry Hardman (1964–1966)
  • James Dunnett (1966–1974)
  • Michael Cary (1974–1976)
  • Frank Cooper (1976–1982)
  • Clive Whitmore (1982–1988)
  • Michael Quinlan (1988–1992)
  • Christopher France (1992–1995)
  • Richard Mottram (1995–1998)
  • Kevin Tebbit (1998–2005)
  • Bill Jeffrey (2005–2010)
  • Ursula Brennan (2010–2012)
  • Jon Thompson (2012–2016)
  • Stephen Lovegrove (2016–2021)
  • David Williams (2021–)

References

References

  1. (20 July 2009). "Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts Volume One 2008-2009". gov.uk.
  2. (20 January 2022). "Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2020–21". gov.uk.
  3. "MINISTRY OF DEFENCE ACCOUNTING OFFICER SYSTEM STATEMENT 2020". gov.uk.
  4. "Ministry of Defence: Our governance". GOV.UK.
  5. "MoD officials questioned on Annual Report and Accounts". Parliament.UK.
  6. "Ministry of Defence: Permanent Under Secretary of State for Defence: Registered Files (D/PUS and PUS Series)". National Archives.
  7. "David Williams".
  8. David Butler and Gareth Butler, ''Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900–2000'', eighth edition, Macmillan, 2000, p. 302
  9. "Ministry of Defence: Permanent Under Secretary of State for Defence: Registered Files (D/PUS and PUS Series)". National Archives.
  10. (2 June 2010). "Interview: Sir Richard Mottram". CivilServiceWorld.
  11. (26 March 2021). "Appointment of Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Defence". GOV.UK.
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

civil-service-positions-in-the-united-kingdom civil-service-(united-kingdom) ministry-of-defence-(united-kingdom) permanent-under-secretaries-of-state-for-defence
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