Sir Christopher Stephen Wormald
KCB (born 30 October 1968) is a British
civil servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
serving as
Permanent Secretary
A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...
of the
Department of Health and Social Care
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwis ...
since 2016, having previously served as Permanent Secretary of the
Department for Education
The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England.
A Department ...
from 2012 to 2016.
Biography
Educated at
Rutlish School
Rutlish School is a state comprehensive school for boys, formerly a grammar school with the same name originally located on Rutlish Road, Merton Park, and relocated in 1957 on nearby Watery Lane, Merton Park, in southwest London.
History
The sc ...
in
Merton and then
St John's College, Oxford
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...
, Wormald joined the
Civil Service
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
in 1991 into the Department for Education (later the Department for Education and Employment). Rising to
Principal Private Secretary
A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family.
The role exists in t ...
to the
Secretary of State for Education and Skills from 2001 until 2004, he then worked on the
Academies programme.
Wormald transferred in 2006 to the newly formed
Department for Communities and Local Government
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local government ...
(DCLG), promoted to be Director-General of Local Government and Regeneration. In 2009, he moved to the
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...
as the Head of the Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat, taking over from
Paul Britton
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
* Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
. Following the
general election in 2010 and the consequent change of the position of
deputy prime minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
, he additionally became Head of the Deputy Prime Minister's Office.
In March 2012, Wormald left the Cabinet Office to return to the Department for Education as its Permanent Secretary, replacing
Sir David Bell David Bell may refer to:
Academia
* David Bell (university administrator) (born 1959), Scottish academic administrator and civil servant
* David Bell (philosopher) (born 1947), British philosopher
* David Bell (artist) (1915–1959), British curat ...
who had retired to be the
vice-chancellor
A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system.
In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...
of the
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...
. As of 2015, Wormald was paid a salary of between £160,000 and £164,999 by DCLG, making him one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time. In January 2016 it was announced that Wormald would move to the Department of Health and Social Care later in 2016, to replace
Dame Una O'Brien after her retirement as the permanent secretary there.
He was appointed
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...
(KCB) in the
2017 Birthday Honours
The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...
.
References
External links
Interview in ''Civil Service World'' with Wormald in 2013*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wormald, Chris
Living people
1968 births
British Permanent Secretaries
Civil servants in the Cabinet Office
Civil servants in the Department of Education (United Kingdom)
Civil servants in the Department for Communities and Local Government
Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Health
Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath