In conversation with Alex Chisholm

Institute for Government

As he prepares to step down as Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service and Permanent Secretary for the Cabinet Office, Alex Chisholm spoke at the Institute for Government for his final time as a civil servant. During nearly a decade at the top of the civil service as a permanent secretary, Alex served four prime ministers and worked with three cabinet secretaries, covering eventful and tumultuous times. After four years as permanent secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in 2020 Alex moved to his current role at the heart of the civil service. Having played a leading part in the civil service reform agenda, Alex reflected on the scheme to relocate parts of the civil service from London, efforts to improve Whitehall’s use of data and digital and to overhaul cross-departmental working, and his reflections on the government’s response during the Covid-19 pandemic. At the event, Alex Chisholm was in conversation with IfG Director Dr Hannah White and will take part in an audience Q&A.