Antonia Romeo, Keir Starmer’s most senior civil servant, has been handed a powerful new mandate to deliver his priorities, while Darren Jones, the No 10 chief secretary, has shifted to a less hands-on role.
Romeo, who was promoted last month, took over the job of cabinet secretary and head of the civil service after an unsuccessful year in charge by her predecessor Chris Wormald, who was not considered effective enough by No 10.
In contrast, Romeo’s published objectives are full of requirements that she “visibly leads the civil service with clarity, energy and passion” and “champions a culture of curiosity, innovation and pride, recognising high performance and excellence in delivery and innovation”.
She has also been handed the task of rewriting the civil service code and “reforming the civil service so that it is recognised for excellence in delivery, innovation and improved productivity”.
The shift in Jones’s job was first reported by FT, which noted that he was spending less time in Downing Street and more time in the Cabinet Office since Romeo took over.
Cabinet Office sources said Jones was keeping the same job as chief secretary to the prime minister and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster but there was less need for him to be hands on with “day-to-day” operations now that a new team is in place, and that he had successfully helped with a turnaround of No 10.
He will focus on civil service reform and implementing plans for digital ID, while still chairing meetings for the prime minister, and handling problems for him.
Jones was given the role of chief secretary to the prime minister last September at a point when Starmer needed to bolster his operation, after losing his communications chief James Lyons, and longstanding press chief Steph Driver.
Downing Street sources said that Vidhya Alakeson, one of two deputies promoted to interim chief of staff after the resignation of Morgan McSweeney, was doing such a good job that she is leading candidate to take on the job on a longer term. His second co-chief of staff, Jill Cuthbertson, is on parental leave.
There is also still no director of communications, although longstanding press aide Sophie Nazemi is now taking on the role on an interim basis after the resignation of Tim Allan.
The promotion of Romeo and bigger role for Alakeson mean the most powerful delivery jobs at the heart of the government have been handed to women.
Romeo, a former permanent secretary at the Home Office and Ministry of Justice, is the first cabinet secretary to publish her goals for the job since Jeremy Heywood, who served under multiple prime ministers.
The five headline goals include leading official delivery of the prime minister’s priorities, acting as his principal policy adviser, supporting proper and effective Cabinet government and decision-making, reforming the civil service, and leading an impartial, curious and engaged civil service
The goals make clear that Romeo will be both the main civil service adviser to the prime minister and leader of the civil service, despite calls in recent years for these two roles to be split.
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