Civil Service chief to stand down before ‘seismic’ Whitehall changes

THE chief executive of the Civil Service is preparing to step down, paving the way for a “seismic” shake-up of Whitehall by the Government.

Sir John Manzoni, who attends Cabinet, has held the role since 2014 and will leave this year. He is also the Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office, and supports Sir Mark Sedwill, the Cabinet Secretary, in managing the performance of the permanent secretaries of other Whitehall departments.

Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s chief aide, has made clear his plans to shake up Whitehall. This month, Rachel Wolf, the architect of the Conservative manifesto, said civil servants could be forced to sit regular exams to prove they are competent to work in Whitehall as part of “seismic” changes being planned by Downing Street.

The Prime Minister has ordered each Cabinet minister to identify legacy projects in their departments to review with a view to freeing up funds for his priorities.

Sir John, who was knighted in the New Year honours list, previously worked for 24 years at BP, finally serving as chief executive of its refining and marketing operations. He left BP in 2007 to join Talisman Energy Inc, a Canadian oil and gas company. At the time, BP was at pains to deny suggestions his departure was the result of criticism over the Texas City refinery disaster, in which 15 people lost their lives.

Sir John joined the Civil Service in February 2014 to lead the Major Projects Authority, tasked with turning around poor project management in government, and became the service’s chief executive later that year.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “As has been planned for some time, Sir John Manzoni will step down from his post at some point this year.” Sir John had initially planned to step down in October last year but stayed on for “continuity”, a Cabinet Office source said.