The Government Actuary's Department (GAD) provides
actuarial
Actuarial science is the discipline that applies mathematical and statistical methods to assess risk in insurance, pension, finance, investment and other industries and professions.
Actuaries are professionals trained in this discipline. In m ...
solutions including risk analysis, modelling and advice to support the UK public sector. It is a department of the
Government of the United Kingdom
His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. .
History
In 1912 the Government appointed a chief actuary to the National Health Insurance Joint Committee, following the
Old Age Pensions Act 1908
The Old Age Pensions Act 1908 (8 Edw. 7. c. 40) is an Act of Parliament (UK), act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, passed in 1908. The act is one of the foundations of modern soci ...
and the
National Insurance Act 1911
The National Insurance Act 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5. c. 55) created National Insurance, originally a system of health insurance for industrial workers in Great Britain based on contributions from employers, the government, and the workers themselves. ...
. As the role of the Chief Actuary expanded, the post of Government Actuary was created in 1917. The Government Actuary's Department was formed 2 years later.
The role of GAD within government expanded significantly in the 1940s and 1950s, coinciding with an expansion of the state's role in pensions, social security and health care.
By the 1980s GAD had grown into a significant actuarial consultancy within government and in 1989 the financing of GAD through an annual Parliamentary vote of funds was replaced by a system of directly charging users of GAD's services. The calculation of GAD's fees is based solely on the recovery of its costs.
GAD has about 200 people across 2 offices (London and Edinburgh), of whom around 165 are actuaries and analysts.
List of government actuaries
The government actuary is the individual actuary that is responsible for the overall running and leadership of GAD. The holders of this role have been:
*
Alfred Watson, 14 May 1917 – 7 May 1936
*
George Epps, 19 May 1936 – 30 November 1944
* Percy Harvey, 1 December 1944 – 30 August 1946
* George Maddex, 31 August 1946 – 31 March 1958
* Herbert Tetley, 1 April 1958 – 30 April 1973
* Edward Johnston, 1 May 1973 – 14 April 1989
*
Christopher Daykin, 15 April 1989 – October 2007
* Trevor Llanwarne, May 2008 – August 2014
* Martin Clarke, August 2014 – 31 October 2023
* Fiona Dunsire, 1 November 2023 – present
Timeline of government actuaries
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PlotArea = top:10 bottom:100 right:130 left:20
AlignBars = late
DateFormat = yyyy
Period = from:1915 till:2024
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1915
Colors =
id:former value:rgb(0.5,0.5,0.5) legend: Former
id:current value:rgb(0.25,0.25,0.25) legend: Current
Legend = columns:2 left:150 top:50 columnwidth:100
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pos:(20,55) textcolor:black fontsize:M
text:"Tenure:"
BarData =
bar:Watson
bar:Epps
bar:Harvey
bar:Maddex
bar:Tetley
bar:Johnston
bar:Daykin
bar:Llanwarne
bar:Clarke
bar:Dunshire
PlotData=
width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till
bar:Watson
from: 1917 till: 1936 color:former text:" Alfred Watson"
bar:Epps
from: 1936 till: 1944 color:former text:" George Epps"
bar:Harvey
from: 1944 till: 1946 color:former text:"Percy Harvey"
bar:Maddex
from: 1946 till: 1958 color:former text:"George Maddex"
bar:Tetley
from: 1958 till: 1973 color:former text:"Herbert Tetley"
bar:Johnston
from: 1973 till: 1989 color:former text:"Edward Johnston"
bar:Daykin
from: 1989 till: 2007 color:former text:" Christopher Daykin"
bar:Llanwarne
from: 2008 till: 2014 color:former text:"Trevor Llanwarne"
bar:Clarke
from: 2014 till: 2023 color:former text:"Martin Clarke"
bar:Dunshire
from: 2023 till: 2024 color:current text:"Fiona Dunshire"
References
External links
Official site
{{Departments of the United Kingdom Government
Pensions in the United Kingdom
Non-ministerial departments of the Government of the United Kingdom
1919 establishments in the United Kingdom