Last Thursday was my first Civil Service Awards ceremony since taking over from Jeremy Heywood as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service. We were joined by members of Jeremy’s family, who were able to experience the admiration and affection for him and to participate in an event celebrating the achievements of civil servants across the country of whom he was so proud.
The Awards capture so much of the brilliant Civil Service: from our traditional strengths in policy development and operational delivery, to our more recent digital and commercial expertise, and awards reflecting our timeless values, such as volunteering and diversity and inclusion.
I want to thank and congratulate everyone who was nominated for an award, in every administration, department and agency. The final shortlist included nominations for teams or individuals in all parts of the United Kingdom.
In tackling challenging issues and giving practical effect to big ideas, all the winners demonstrated the impact and teamwork that match the needs of the times, and which should guide everything we do under my leadership.
As I said in my first message to civil servants as Head of the Civil Service, there’s rarely been a more important time to be in public service. It’s a privilege to be part of this great national team and of the wider public service, committed to improving the lives of our citizens, and to the security, prosperity and influence of our country.
The Civil Service Awards showcase the best and set the standard for the rest of us. Congratulations again to all those nominated. I hope we will see even more next year.
The winners were:
The Chris Martin Policy Award
Race Disparity Unit, Cabinet Office
The Collaboration Award
Scottish General Medical Services Contract Negotiation Team, Scottish Government
The Commercial Award
Commercial Team, People and Locations Programme, Department for Work & Pensions (DWP)
The Communication Award
Prison Officer Recruitment Campaign Team, Ministry of Justice
The Customer Service Award
Gerry Reardon, DWP
The Dame Lesley Strathie Operational Excellence Award
GOV.UK Notify Team, Government Digital Service
The Digital Award
MOT Reminder Service, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency
The Diversity and Inclusion Award
Charlotte Dring, Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
The Health and Wellbeing Award
A to Z to Better Wellbeing Team (various departments)
The Innovation Award
Going Forward into Employment Project Team, Cabinet Office, Ministry of Justice and Civil Service Commission
The Inspirational Leadership Award
Marina Pettigrew, Foreign & Commonwealth Office
The Project Delivery Excellence Award
Monarch Repatriation Operation Team, Department for Transport
The Skills Award
International Trade Profession Team, Department for International Trade
The Use of Evidence Award
Fergus McBean, Department for International Development
The Volunteering Award
Catherine Ramsay, Home Office
See full details of all the winners here.
View a short video of the Awards ceremony.
9 comments
Comment by Matt Behan posted on
Yes, well done everyone. Fantastic effort - what a Brilliant Civil Service. And we get paid as well.
Comment by Arjmund Butt posted on
Congratulations to all of the winners and nominees!!
Also, a big well done to the teams and writers of these nominations, successful or not, hours of research and hard work goes into writing nominations to ensure their colleagues achievements are recognised.
Keep up the good work everyone!
Comment by Debra Royle posted on
"Well done everyone" brilliant achievements.
Comment by Patrick Nolan posted on
Compelling examples of Our Brilliant Civil Service. Chapeau to all the nominees and very well done to the winners
Comment by SUSAN BREARS posted on
Lovely to see Catherine won an award for UKVI, well done Catherine!
Susan Brears
Great Place to Work Leadership Team
Comment by Shirley Barton posted on
Well done to all! I would really like to know more details about what the winners did to achieve these awards!
Comment by The Blog Team posted on
Thanks Shirley. Please click on the line at the bottom of the list of winners to see those details.
Comment by Gavin Thomas posted on
Congratulations to those who won as well as those who were nominated. I hope that you prove to an inspiration to others and as a former Prime Minsters once said "Nothing is Impossible".
I would especially like to commend the winners of the Diversity and Inclusion and the Health and wellbeing Awards for their contribution in support their colleagues and for ensuring fairness and equality.
Comment by Gail posted on
Hi Gavin,
Gail here from A-Z to Better Wellbeing team. Thank you for your continued support. 🙂