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A Jersey man has been appointed to lead the 6,500-people-strong Scottish Civil Service.
John-Paul (JP) Marks will be the next Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government. The 41-year-old will be the principal policy adviser to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Secretary to the Scottish Cabinet.
As the principal accountable officer for the Scottish Government, Mr Marks will be personally responsible to the Scottish Parliament. His duties will include the management of the Scottish Government’s £42.5 billion budget and the economic, efficient and effective use of all its resources.
The appointment was made by the First Minister in agreement with the UK Cabinet Secretary following an open competition.
Mr Marks begins his new job on 5 January next year, taking over from Leslie Evans, who was Scotland’s first female Permanent Secretary.
The son of Susan Marks and the late Dr Michael Marks, Mr Marks was born in Jersey and went to Victoria College before graduating from Cambridge and Boston Universities. He then joined HM Treasury, where his roles included being Speechwriter to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
John Paul Marks has been appointed Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government and will take up post on 5 January 2022.
— Scottish Government (@scotgov) November 18, 2021
He joins from the Department for Work and Pensions where he was Director General, Work and Health Services.
Read more ➡️ https://t.co/tVjayJV1Nh pic.twitter.com/wmTtu9XICC
Pictured: The Scottish Government make the announcement on Twitter.
He then moved to the Department for Work & Pensions, where he is currently Director General, Work and Health Service.
In his new role, he will lead seven Director Generals and more than 30 Directorates from St. Andrew's House in Edinburgh.
He said: “I am delighted to take up the role of Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government and I am grateful to the First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for this exciting opportunity.
“I would like to thank all the teams at the Department for Work & Pensions for their support and public service over the years. I look forward to joining the team in Scotland in the New Year as we do our very best for Scotland in these important years ahead.”
Mrs Sturgeon said: “I am delighted to agree the appointment of John Paul Marks as Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government.
“John Paul brings a wealth of experience to this senior leadership role from his career in the civil service working across a range of policy and delivery priorities. I look forward to working with him over the years ahead as we recover from Covid-19 and deliver on the government’s ambition to build a fairer, greener Scotland.”
The Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case, who leads the UK Civil Service, added: “I would like to congratulate JP on his appointment. His experience at senior Civil Service level in building teams, delivering complex system reforms, major projects and improving services at scale in the public sector will be invaluable in his new role.
“I very much look forward to working with him as part of the senior leadership of the UK Civil Service.”
Pictured top: Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon with JP Marks. Credit: Scottish Government.
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