Appointment of new Permanent Secretary at DCMS

Sarah Healey has been announced as the new Permanent Secretary of Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

The Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill, with the agreement of the Prime Minister, has today announced the appointment of Sarah Healey, as the new Permanent Secretary at the Department for Digital Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Sarah is currently the Director General of the Economic and Domestic Secretariat in the Cabinet Office and will take up the new role at DCMS.

Welcoming Sarah Healey’s appointment Sir Mark Sedwill said:

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Sarah Healey as the new Permanent Secretary of DCMS. She has built a wealth of knowledge and experience from her previous roles across Whitehall, which positions her as the ideal candidate to take over the important role as Permanent Secretary of DCMS. I know she is pleased to return to the department.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Dame Sue Owen, who retires later this month, for her excellent leadership of the department over the last six years. She has been an invaluable member of the civil service and deserves tribute for her commitment to tirelessly working towards the best outcomes of citizens across the country.

The Secretary of State for DCMS, the Rt Hon Jeremy Wright QC MP, said:

I am very pleased to welcome Sarah back to DCMS and I am looking forward to working closely with her in her new role. Sarah’s recent experience of working on EU exit, combined with her years of experience at DCMS, will be extremely valuable and I know that she will make an outstanding contribution to the department.

I would also like to thank Dame Sue Owen, who has led the department with distinction over the past five and a half years. In this time, Sue has made the department a more resilient, inclusive and ambitious place, with an expanded remit at the heart of 21st century government.

Sarah Healey said:

I am absolutely thrilled to be appointed as the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. I know what a brilliant department it is from my time there as Director General and have watched it grow and continue to change for the better and better over the last couple of years. Sue will be such a tough act to follow, but I am really looking forward to working with Ministers and the team on the important challenges DCMS and its extended family have in shaping the future of the country.

This appointment has been agreed by the Prime Minister, and follows an internal recruitment competition.