Jonathan Slater

Jonathan Slater (born 29 November 1961) is a former high ranking British civil servant.[1] From May 2016, he was Permanent Secretary of the Department for Education[2] until his abrupt dismissal on 26 August 2020 following a controversy over national school examination grades.

Jonathan Slater
Permanent Secretary of the
Department for Education
In office
October 2015 – 3 May 2016
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byMelanie Dawes
Director-General,
Economic and Domestic Secretariat,
Cabinet Office
In office
April 2016 – 26 August 2020
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Theresa May
Boris Johnson
MinisterNicky Morgan
Justine Greening
Damian Hinds
Gavin Williamson
Preceded byChris Wormald
Succeeded bySusan Acland-Hood
Personal details
Born (1961-11-29) 29 November 1961

Career

Slater entered Civil Service in 2001 joining the Cabinet Office, having previously worked for the London Borough of Islington.[1][3] After four years there, he moved to the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit at Number 10 Policy Unit in 2005, working on NHS reform and the capability review programme. In 2006, he transferred to the Ministry of Justice,[3] working in the National Offender Management Service as its Director of Performance & Improvement, and then in 2008 as Chief Executive of the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, before being promoted in 2009 to Director-General, Transformation.[3][4][1]

In July 2011, Slater moved to the Ministry of Defence as its Director-General, Transformation and Corporate Strategy, encouraged by his former Permanent Secretary Ursula Brennan.[5] His position was subsequently changed to Director-General, Head Office and Commissioning Services.[6][1]

In October 2015, Slater was appointed head of the Economic and Domestic Secretariat at the Cabinet Office, replacing Melanie Dawes. Seven months later he was again promoted to Permanent Secretary of the Department for Education, succeeding Chris Wormald who moved to the then-Department of Health.[6][7]

In August 2020, the prime minister concluded that there was "a need for fresh official leadership” and Slater announced he was stepping down with effect from 1 September.[8] The general secretary of the FDA union, Dave Penman, attacked the sacking in the following terms": "If it wasn't clear before, then it certainly is now - this administration will throw civil service leaders under a bus without a moment's hesitation to shield ministers from any kind of accountability." Slater was the fifth top civil servant to be sacked in as many months.[9]

See also

References
  1. A & C Black (2015). SLATER, Jonathan. Retrieved 28 April 2016. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. "Jonathan Slater - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  3. "Jonathan Slater - MOD". Gender. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  4. "Jonathan Slater - Sciences & technology in the service of society". www.csap.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  5. "Interview: Ursula Brennan | Civil Service World". www.civilserviceworld.com. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  6. "New Permanent Secretary for the Department for Education - Press releases - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  7. "Cabinet Office's Jonathan Slater is new Department for Education perm sec | Civil Service World". www.civilserviceworld.com. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  8. Stewart, Heather; Weale, Sally (26 August 2020). "Top DfE civil servant Jonathan Slater to step down after exams row". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  9. "Chief education civil servant Jonathan Slater sacked after exams row". www.bbc.co.uk. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2021.

Offices held


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