Sir will conclude his
service at the Ministry of Justice later this summer when
his five-year tenure comes to an end.
He will step down as Permanent Secretary, and will leave
the Civil Service after nearly 30 years’ dedicated public
service.
During his time at the MoJ, Sir Richard has steered
the department through a number of changes, including
projects to improve prison safety and security, modernise
courts and tribunals, and bring all offender management
under the National Probation Service. This year he worked
with ministers to devise an effective coronavirus strategy,
which prevented widespread prison outbreaks.
Arrangements to appoint Sir Richard’s successor as
Permanent Secretary will be announced in due course.
Lord Chancellor, , said:
Sir Richard is an exceptional civil servant, with the
strongest of reputations across Government and the legal
sector.
He has carried out many roles in Government with
distinction; I am personally grateful to him for
welcoming me into the department as Minister of State and
then Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State, for helping
me deliver the Government’s priorities, and also for
steering the department through COVID.
It has been a pleasure to work with him and he leaves
with my very best wishes for the future.
Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service, , said:
Richard has earned the country’s appreciation for his
three decades of dedicated public service and I would
also like to thank him for his friendship and support as
a colleague. He leaves the department in good shape for
the challenges ahead.
Particular tribute should also go to Richard for the
crucial work he has done as Race Champion for the Civil
Service. I’m confident the whole Civil Service echoes my
gratitude to him for his work to advance the wider
equality agenda.
Sir said:
No department in government has a purpose more important
than that of securing justice and the rule of law. It has
been a privilege to lead the Ministry of Justice.
These have been challenging years, particularly during
the present pandemic. But throughout, we have been able
to deliver on the priorities of successive Governments.
I’m pleased with our recent record of securing investment
in the fabric of our justice system. We have steered the
probation service towards a stable and positive future.
We have helped our prisons emerge from a difficult
period, and we have carefully mitigated the potential
impact of Covid-19 on our services and on the men, women
and children in our care.
But what I am most proud of is the way in which people
from every part of the department and its partner
organisations work together to get things done. Our
values in the Ministry of Justice shape us, and our
brilliant hard-working people do their very best to live
by them and to serve Ministers and the public.
Sir Richard’s career in government began in 1991, when he
joined the Home Office as a legal adviser.
He later spent five years at the Department for Work and
Pensions as head of law and governance, and latterly as
director general for pensions and ageing society.
In 2012 he was appointed Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet
Office and in 2014 became the civil service race champion –
leading the drive to improve its ethnic diversity. He
joined the MoJ in August 2015.
In recognition of his public service, Sir Richard was
appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in
the 2019 New Year Honours list. Sir Richard also chairs the
board of a community charity in south London.
