Shona Hunter Dunn (born 15 October 1969) is a British civil servant, serving as the

Second Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil se ...

at the Home Office.

Biography

Dunn read for a BSc in biology at the University of Birmingham and then an MSc in ecology at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

, where her thesis was on "''the affects (sic) of

habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological processes ...

on the woodland edge micro-climate and on the structure and composition of woodland ground flora"'', after which she joined the Department for Environment in 1995 as a policy adviser. She rose through the various re-organisations of the department ( Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions,

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific duti ...

, and the Department for Communities and Local Government) and a stint as policy head of Westminster City Council in 2005–6, serving as the director for Fire and Resilience for 2008–11 and then for planning for 2011–13. In 2013, Dunn was promoted to serve as director-general for education standards in the Department for Education, replacing

Stephen Meek Stephen Hall L. Meek (July 4, 1807 – January 8, 1889) was a Animal trapping, fur trapper and guide in the American Old West, American west, most notably a guide on a large wagon train that used a trail known as the Meek Cutoff. A native of Vir ...

. After three years, she was appointed as the next Head of the

Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat The Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat (EDS) is a secretariat in the United Kingdom Cabinet Office. It supports the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Minister for the Cabinet Office develop, co-ordinate and agree the UK government's ...

, replacing Jonathan Slater in 2016. In Summer 2018, it was announced that Dunn would be promoted to replace Patsy Wilkinson as the Second Permanent Secretary for the Home Office. On 29 February 2020, she was appointed acting

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 ...

at the Home Office, following the sudden resignation of Sir

Philip Rutnam Sir Philip McDougall Rutnam, (born 19 June 1965) is a British former civil servant who served as Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office from 2017 until his resignation on 29 February 2020. Prior to this, he was the Permanent Secr ...

. She returned to her role as Second Permanent Secretary following the appointment of

Matthew Rycroft Sir Matthew John Rycroft (; born 16 June 1968) is a British civil servant and diplomat serving as Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office since 2020, appointed following the resignation of Sir Philip Rutnam. Rycroft previously se ...

as Permanent Secretary in March 2020. In April 2021 Dunn left the Home Office to become Second Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care.

Offices held

References

External links

Dunn's page on gov.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Shona Living people British Permanent Secretaries 1969 births Alumni of the University of Birmingham Alumni of Durham University