Reflecting on some of the more memorable episodes of his career to date, the former principal private secretary to prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May says: “Safe to say there are moments in reshuffles, where accidentally the wrong person has been put on the line and you realise that you’re about to offer the wrong person the job.”. Please turn on JavaScript In offices across Whitehall and the corridors of parliament, at kitchen tables and in spare bedrooms across the country, people are breathing a sigh of relief. Simon Case will be named as cabinet secretary on Tuesday, the Financial Times reports. [16] Also in 2018, Case was appointed a Visiting Professor at King's College London, having previously been a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the university. Succeeding Sir Mark Sedwill as cabinet secretary and head of the civil service is a job that a lot of people – including the successful candidate – said that they did not want. At the start of this, we didn't understand the level of asymptomatic carriers that there would be... We know that at the start we weren't doing enough testing, but we rapidly scaled that up.”, He goes on: “So there will come a time when we look at all of these lessons, I think, in every area, we’ll say to ourselves, could we have further, faster in some of those areas? 22 May 2020 Government Tax Profession. Simon Case will not be writing a memoir. I'm sure the answer will be yes.”. No, not having that,” he says. Well, the pace at which you have to move in the 21st century is even greater than it was in 1967, 1968.”. Case’s predecessor, Sir Mark Sedwill, by all accounts had his fair share of run-ins with the chief spad. Heywood, whom Case worked with as a PPS, wanted officials to engage more with policy development overseas. This site requires JavaScript for certain functions and interactions to work. “There are moments in reshuffles where the wrong person has been put on the line and you realise you’re about to offer the wrong person the job”. If the papers are to be believed, there are many who will be glad to see the back of Cummings. But he notes that some of his ideas have “been around for decades”. They are more oil tankers, usually, than they are speedboats, when it comes to turning circles.”, “Changing large organisations is inherently complicated. Who is Simon Case: the ‘free-thinking’ Boris Johnson ally set to head the civil service Ex-assistant to Prince William lined up to replace Mark Sedwill as cabinet secretary “Antonia’s appointment is great news for the Ministry of Justice. [8] In March 2015, he joined Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) as Director of Strategy. Regan, North Carolina's top environmental regulator, worked at the EPA during the Clinton and Bush administrations. Aged 41, he is the youngest holder of the role since 1916. “You know, it's a bloody difficult time for the country, and enormous numbers of people have suffered in terrible ways. Special advisers are appointed by ministers and are not subject to public appointment rules. And through that, government has had to adapt and change in the sorts of ways that I’ve talked about. He says government has got better, during the pandemic, at using so-called ‘red teams’ of officials specifically formed to provide extra challenge to policy choices, and improving analysis to understand the impact of the measures it has taken. Case is deeply aware that while few of the staff he is now responsible for can relate to the pressure of directly advising the PM, all are affected by coronavirus. [3] He worked first within the Ministry of Defence as a policy adviser. [3][4] While at Cambridge, he rowed and was President of Cambridge University Lightweight Rowing Club. Many experts argue the UK should have adopted lockdown measures earlier; the test and trace system was slow to get going and has failed to reach many of those who have come into contact with someone who has contracted the virus; and many self-employed people have been left without government support while their incomes have taken a hit. Simon Case was appointed as … So as always, when you're under pressure and you think ‘How do I cope with this?’, the quality of the people around you is a big factor in that.”. Welcome to the Missouri Secretary of State. Simon Case became cabinet secretary at an extraordinary time, and his first few weeks in post have been dominated by the government’s response to the coronavirus crisis. But he did weigh in on the formation of the job – a title last held by Gavin Barwell under Theresa May, before Cummings effectively took over many of the responsibilities when he became chief adviser to Johnson. Simon Case, who was appointed permanent secretary of 10 Downing Street this May, has been confirmed as the next cabinet secretary. [3][4][6] His doctoral supervisor was Professor Peter Hennessy, and his thesis was titled The Joint Intelligence Committee and the German Question, 1947–61. It has been widely reported that the dual departures followed a bitter power struggle over a chaotic and divided No.10. “I see it as my job, just as those who've come before me, to help the PM think through how best to get the right structures in place to support him,” Case says. At 41 Case is the second youngest cabinet secretary after Maurice Hankey, who David STILL CLIMBING. A former private secretary to Prince William will reportedly be named the UK's new top civil servant. [3] He took up the appointment on 11 January 2016 until he was succeeded by Peter Hill on 10 May 2017. Cabinet secretary Simon Case said: ‘Antonia’s appointment is great news for the Ministry of Justice. “At the heart [of those conversations] – in a way that perhaps I haven't felt for quite a long time, if ever – is that all the decisions we're taking in work have such a direct impact on the people around us.”. [5] He then undertook postgraduate research in political history at Queen Mary University of London, and graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 2007. [17], In August 2020 Case was announced in the Financial Times as Lord Sedwill's successor as Head of the Home Civil Service. From 2.15pm: Simon Case, Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service; Alex Chisholm, Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Office [15], In March 2018, it was announced that Case would be the next Private Secretary to the Duke of Cambridge: he took up the appointment in July 2018. [3], Case was born on 27 December 1978 in Bristol, England. “It's very easy to take for granted the smooth handover of power in our system, but actually, managing the transition from David Cameron to Theresa May and being part of how our democracy works – those are things that make me proud.”. In the Cabinet Office, in departments and in the Covid task force that helps formulate coronavirus measures, are “some of the finest people I've ever worked with, who are just working themselves so hard in service of their countries”. With Cummings gone, many are wondering whether his ideas will also vanish from government. Says Case: “I profoundly believe that all organisations – we need to help our staff look after themselves, especially when we’re all working under this pressure. But the context keeps changing, and it's all about: how does governing adapt to the internal and external context? He has called the permanent civil service an “idea for the history books” and said its HR practices reward mediocrity – and had also been pushing for major changes to recruitment and reward rules. And I can't do anything other than answer it honestly. On a personal level, he says, the pandemic “has been very hard”. "The weight on the shoulders of the prime minister and his ministerial team is unbelievable. “We often talk about how time in Covid-land is a very different thing to previous experiences of time,” he says. The task Case and others are facing has been further complicated by some high-profile staffing changes. Another thing he says makes “a very big difference” is that he is surrounded by “some quite phenomenal colleagues”. [8] He then worked in the Northern Ireland Office and the Cabinet Office. Simon Case was appointed Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service in September 2020. 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