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 senior civil servant in Scotland and leads the 5000 plus people working for the Scottish Government.
The government is structured into a number of directorates and their related public bodies. Directorates and agencies are managed by six directors-general.
Permanent Secretary and directors-general
Directors-general and the directorates they govern are responsible for progressing the Scottish Government's five strategic objectives: making Scotland wealthier and fairer, healthier, safer and stronger, smarter and greener.
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Leslie Evans
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Liz Ditchburn
Responsibilities
- Agriculture and Rural Delivery Directorate
- Chief Economist Directorate
- Culture, Tourism and Major Events Directorate
- Economic Development Directorate
- Energy and Climate Change Directorate
- Environment and Forestry Directorate
- Fair Work, Employability and Skills Directorate
- International Trade and Investment Directorate
- Marine Scotland Directorate
- Scottish National Investment Bank Directorate
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Elinor Mitchell
Director-General Health and Social Care
Responsibilities
- Chief Medical Officer Directorate
- Chief Nursing Officer Directorate
- Community Health and Social Care Directorate
- Health Finance and Governance
- Health Performance and Delivery Directorate
- Health Workforce, Leadership and Service Reform Directorate
- Healthcare Quality and Improvement Directorate
- Mental Health Directorate
- Population Health Directorate
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John Connaghan CBE
Chief Executive of NHS Scotland
Responsibilities
- Chief Medical Officer Directorate
- Chief Nursing Officer Directorate
- Community Health and Social Care Directorate
- Health Finance and Governance
- Health Performance and Delivery Directorate
- Health Workforce, Leadership and Service Reform Directorate
- Healthcare Quality and Improvement Directorate
- Mental Health Directorate
- Office of the Chief Executive NHS Scotland
- Population Health Directorate
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Paul Johnston
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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Nichola Clyde
Non-executive director
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Annie Gunner Logan
Non-executive director
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Janet Hamblin
Non-executive director
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Ronnie Hinds
Non-executive director
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Hugh McKay
Non-executive director
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Linda McKay MBE
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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Fiona Ross
Non-executive director
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Ben McKendrick
Deputy non-executive director