First Minister Nicola Sturgeon Role Government officer Name Leslie Evans | Profession Civil Servant Preceded by Sir Peter Housden | |
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Alma mater University of Liverpool | ||
Education University of Liverpool | ||
Leslie Evans, Permanent Secretary: Keeping the faith in an uncertain world
Leslie Evans (born 11 December 1958) is the Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government. In this role, Evans is the principal policy adviser to the First Minister and Secretary to the Scottish Cabinet.
Contents
- Leslie Evans Permanent Secretary Keeping the faith in an uncertain world
- Early life
- Career
- Personal life
- References
She is also the Principal Accountable Officer for the Scottish Government, with personal responsibility for the propriety and regularity of Government finance and for economic, efficient and effective use of all related resources.
Evans is the senior Civil Servant in Scotland and leads more than 5,000 civil servants working for the Scottish Government, supporting development, implementation and communication of government policies, in accordance with the Civil Service Code. At a UK level, she is a member of the Civil Service Board.
Early life
Evans was born in Northern Ireland. She was educated at High Storrs School in Sheffield and studied Music at the University of Liverpool. She has lived in Scotland since 1985.
Career
Evans joined the Scottish Government in September 2000, having spent 20 years working for local authorities in Scotland (City of Edinburgh Council and Stirling Council) and England (London Borough of Greenwich and Sheffield City Council).
Her previous post within the Scottish Government was Director General Learning and Justice. Previous positions include Head of Local Government Constitution & Governance Division, Head of Public Service Reform Group, Head of Tourism, Culture and Sport, and Director of Culture, External Affairs and Tourism.
In May 2015, it was announced that Evans would be the first woman to become the Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government, taking up the position on 1 July 2015. As of 2015, Evans was paid a salary of between £160,000 and £164,999 by the Scottish Government, making her one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time.
Personal life
Evans is married with one son.