The business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) department’s top official has been appointed second in command of the entire civil service.
Cabinet secretary Sir Mark Sedwill announced today (31 March) that Alex Chisholm, who is currently permanent secretary at BEIS, has been appointed chief operating officer for the civil service.
In his new role, Chisholm will also serve as the new permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office, the department headed by Michael Gove which co-ordinates activity across government.
He succeeds Sir John Manzoni, who has agreed to stay on over the next few months to support the government’s response to coronavirus.
Chisholm, who has been permanent secretary at BEIS since 2016, will take up his new post on 14 April.
Prior to his current role, the 52-year old was permanent secretary of the department of energy and climate change (DECC) before its dissolution in 2016 and chief executive of the Competition & Markets Authority.
Sam Beckett, who is currently director general for trade, Europe and analysis at BEIS, has been appointed the department’s acting permanent secretary.
Arrangements for appointing a permanent successor for Chisholm will be announced in due course.
In another civil service move, BEIS’s former chief energy official was appointed permanent secretary at the ministry for housing, communities and local government yesterday (30 March).
Jeremy Pocklington joined MHCLG in 2018, prior to which he was director general, energy and security at BEIS for nearly two years and director general of the markets and infrastructure group at DECC.