The biggest challenges for the new cabinet secretary are coronavirus and civil service reform

Succeeding Sir Mark Sedwill as cabinet secretary and head of the civil service is a job that a lot of people – including the successful candidate – said that they did not want. But when the prime minister asked Simon Case to take on the job, in the end he decided that he could not turn it down.

At 41 Case is the second youngest cabinet secretary after Maurice Hankey, who David Lloyd George appointed to be the first holder of the post at the age of 39. Many will remark on Case’s relative inexperience. But his CV is a conventional – if super-charged – one. He was a protégé of the late Jeremy Heywood, was principal private secretary to David Cameron and Theresa May, headed the prime minister’s implementation unit in the Cabinet Office and spent time in GCHQ.

He had a short spell outside central government as Prince William’s private secretary and was lured back by the promise of a permanent secretary job in No10. Like Mark Sedwill, he has not held a major economic or Treasury role, which is a gap but no impediment to the top job. More significant is that he has never run a department or taken the lead himself on a major project.

It is not such a surprise that a long-time civil service high flier like Case finds himself in the role. He has a record of gaining the confidence of ministers and getting things done and has relevant experience to tackle the constitutional and propriety aspects of the cabinet secretary’s job.

Simon Case has the prime minister’s confidence but needs to win that of the permanent secretaries

Case meets the first essential criteria for the job – he has the confidence of the prime minister and, we must assume, Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s main adviser. The cabinet secretary gets his authority from the prime minister and from being in the room when decisions are made. Case is a past master at the internal politics of No10 and the Cabinet Office. He also has – some – civil service management experience. The combination of political backing and administrative nous makes him a good pick.

But that is only one part of the job. Case will also be head of the civil service and must rapidly assert himself with his permanent secretary colleagues, some of whom will have applied for the job. He must also demonstrate that he can credibly lead 400,000 civil servants, most of whom are far remote from the corridors of No10 and the Cabinet Office. That is a long way outside Case’s career comfort zone.

A daunting inbox awaits the new cabinet secretary 

The new cabinet secretary’s most urgent task is to rebuild relationships between the civil service and ministers. Hostile briefings, peremptory sackings and perceived or real system failures have led to a breakdown in trust, especially between No10 and the Cabinet Office. As a career civil servant who has gained the confidence of successive prime ministers, Case is well placed to bridge this divide – but he will need to demonstrate that he can take a stand when ministers or political advisers step over constitutional or propriety boundaries. Victory in an early battle would help. He will need to remind his political and civil service colleagues that government is more effective when people work together. Some judicious moves and structural changes, including strengthening the centre’s grip on departmental delivery, will help.

Case has already been leading on the coronavirus response from No10, but he will need to reassert his authority over the government response and show that the machine he heads is responding to the crisis. As perceived failings in the previous regime were a cause of Mark Sedwill’s downfall, Case will need to show a decisive break while also preparing for the inquiry into the government’s performance. He will need to lead civil service Brexit preparations as they intensify, and with the imminent appointment of a new political spokesperson he should take the opportunity to sharpen up the government’s dire communications.

An area where Case will need to demonstrate his credibility to both fellow civil servants and ministers is on civil service reform. Alex Chisholm, as the civil service’s chief operating officer, has started the work, but as the head of the civil service Case must shape the agenda and arbitrate in disputes over how far to make changes. Bringing in people with new skills, reducing staff turnover and sharpening the government’s digital programme while defending the civil service values of impartiality, objectivity, honesty and integrity should be priorities.

Among many other matters, Case will have to decide what to prioritise. Where the cabinet secretary puts his attention matters. He can intervene across the government’s agenda but will not have the time to do everything. The coronavirus response and the latest Brexit twists will require Case to demonstrate some quick progress, but he will also be judged on how well the civil service tackles the major long term priorities of net zero and ‘levelling up’.

Responding to unexpected events is a big part of the job

Just as ministerial plans are disrupted by events, so are those of cabinet secretaries. Tricky questions will cross Case’s desk every day, and some of them will define his time in office. Propriety and ethical questions often cause the biggest headaches – will Case insist on swift resolution of the bullying allegations against Priti Patel? And will he step in to protect the next permanent secretary who falls foul of the Downing Street briefing machine?

This is a perilous time for the civil service, but also one of opportunity. The civil service gets its authority and legitimacy by delivering results effectively for ministers. That does not mean always saying ‘yes’ or downplaying risks, and it should not lead to an erosion in what remains an impartial civil service.

All cabinet secretaries take time to grow into the job, and for Simon Case it will be a particularly significant step up from his previous roles. He has been appointed because he has the prime minister’s full support; the challenge will be to show that he can win the civil service’s.