Written - Permanent Secretary Appointment

I am pleased to inform Members that Dame Gillian Morgan has been appointed as the new Permanent Secretary and will take up her appointment in May on the retirement of Sir Jon Shortridge.

Dame Gillian is a highly respected figure with an enviable track record of leadership and public service delivery which will prove to be an invaluable asset to the Assembly Government and all its officials. Her record in the health service and expertise in improving public service delivery made her an ideal candidate for the job.

Born in Llwynypia in the Rhondda Valley, Dame Gillian Morgan (aged 54) has been Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation since February 2002 after a career in medicine and management, latterly as Chief Executive of North and East Devon Health Authority. She is a former GP who has also worked in hospitals and public health medicine both as a consultant and as Director of Public Health in Leicestershire. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and the Faculty of Public Health, a member of the Royal College of General Practice and holds an honorary DSc from City University. She was President of the Institute of Health Services Management in 1997-98 and is a past President of the International Hospital Federation.

She has served on a large number of national committees and working groups and is currently a member of the NHS Stakeholder Forum. She was also one of the three members of the review team led by Sir Jeremy Beecham set up in 2006 to advise the Welsh Assembly Government on the reform of public services in Wales.

I look forward to working with Dame Gillian as I am firmly convinced that her leadership capabilities and her commitment to the delivery and improvement of public services will strike the right chord with our team of officials, and indeed the whole of the Welsh public service.