The Civil Service
The civil service helps the government of the day develop and implement its policies as well as deliver public services. Civil servants are accountable to ministers, who in turn are accountable to Parliament.
The Permanent Secretary is the most senior civil servant in Scotland and leads staff within the core Scottish Government and has oversight of around 125 agencies.
The government is structured into a number of directorates and their related public bodies. Directorates and agencies are managed by directors-general.
Permanent Secretary and directors-general
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Joe Griffin
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Louise Macdonald
Shona Riach
Lesley Fraser
Responsibilities (9)
- Communications and Ministerial Support Directorate
- Corporate Transformation Directorate
- Covid Inquiries Response Directorate
- Digital Directorate
- Financial Management Directorate
- Legal Services (Solicitor to the Scottish Government)
- People Directorate
- Propriety and Ethics Directorate
- Scottish Procurement and Property Directorate
Gregor Irwin
Neil Rennick
Caroline Lamb
Chief Executive of NHS Scotland and Director-General Health and Social Care
Responsibilities (11)
- Chief Medical Officer Directorate
- Chief Nursing Officer Directorate
- Chief Operating Officer, NHS Scotland Directorate
- Digital Health and Care Directorate
- Health Workforce Directorate
- Health and Social Care Finance Directorate
- Mental Health Directorate
- People, Appointments and Governance
- Population Health Directorate
- Primary Care Directorate
- Social Care and National Care Service Development
Roy Brannen
Alyson Stafford CBE
Non-executive directors
Non-executive directors (NXDs) support the Permanent Secretary, directors-general and other senior managers in the leadership of the Scottish Government.
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Belinda Oldfield
Non-executive director
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Neil Richardson
Non-executive director
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Jim Robertson
Non-executive director
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Jenny Stewart
Non-executive director
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Manish Joshi
Non-executive director
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Helen Dean
Non-executive director