New Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government

John-Paul (JP) Marks has been appointed as the new Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government.

JP, who is currently Director General, Work and Health Services at the Department for Work and Pensions was chosen following an open competition.

The appointment has been made by the First Minister of Scotland in agreement with the Cabinet Secretary. JP will take up the post on 5 January 2022.

"JP's experience at Senior Civil Service level in building teams, delivering complex system reforms, major projects and improving services at scale in the public sector will be invaluable in his new role," said Cabinet Secretary Simon Case.

JP has been DG for Work and Health Services at DWP since 2019. Prior to that he was DG Operations at DWP from 2018 to 2019. His other posts include Operations Director, Universal Credit Programme and Work Services Director at DWP and Head of Corporate, International Relations at the UK Pensions Regulator.

"JP brings a wealth of experience to this senior leadership role from his career in the civil service working across a range of policy and delivery priorities," said Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's First Minister. "I look forward to working with him over the years ahead as we recover from Covid-19 and deliver on the government’s ambition to build a fairer, greener Scotland."