WRITTEN ON February 29th, 2008 BY William Heath AND STORED IN Ideal Goverment - project

IdealGov is delighted to welcome, starting shortly, the first-ever blogging Permanent Secretary. We’ve had Ministers: Jim Murphy, and Hazel Blears’ PR department, but to have a Permanent Secretary reporting direct to the Prime Minister is a UK first, perhaps a world first.

Sir Bonar Neville-Kingdom is Permanent Secretary at Large with especial responsibility for efficiency, globalisation and customer insight throughout Whitehall and beyond. He is acknowledged among the senior Civil Service as a moderniser and one of the most articulate proponents of technology in its various forms and ramifications. He has gained vast experience in a widely varied career across the Cabinet Office, including a secondment in the Ministry of Defence. He is generally credited with authorship of the seminal “Nodiss” memo. He’s also a keen gardener and occasional author.

Within the constraints of the Official Secrets Act Sir Bonar has promised to contribute frankly his thoughts about the potential of technology for modernising Whitehall and to share insights from his books and other interests. Sir Bonar: welcome. We’re delighted to add you to our list of authors.