Richard Heaton

Sir Richard Nicholas Heaton, KCB (born 5 October 1965) is a barrister and former senior British civil servant who was the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and Clerk of the Crown in Chancery from September 2015[1] until resigning in August 2020. He had previously served as Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary,[2][3] and First Parliamentary Counsel.[4]

Sir Richard Heaton KCB
Richard Heaton
Clerk of the Crown in Chancery Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice
In office August 2015 – August 2020
Prime Minister	David Cameron Theresa May Boris Johnson
Minister	Michael Gove Liz Truss David Lidington David Gauke Robert Buckland
Preceded by	Ursula Brennan
Succeeded by	Antonia Romeo
Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary
In office August 2012 – August 2015
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Ian Watmore
Succeeded by	John Manzoni
First Parliamentary Counsel
In office February 2012 – 2015
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Stephen Laws
Succeeded by	Elizabeth Gardiner
Personal details
Born	5 October 1965
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Worcester College, Oxford Inns of Court School of Law

Early life and education

Heaton was born on 5 October 1965.[5] He studied at Worcester College, Oxford where he received a BA degree in Law.[6]

Career

Heaton worked as a barrister, after being called to the bar at Inner Temple in 1988.[7] He joined the Government Legal Service in 1991 where he remained until moving to the Department for Constitutional Affairs in 2004 where he served as Director of Legal Services.[8] He then went on to work as Head of law and governance at the Department for Work and Pensions from 2007-2009, and Director General for pensions and ageing society from 2009-2012.

In February 2012, Heaton became First Parliamentary Counsel, replacing the retiring Sir Stephen Laws.[4] In August 2012, he was additionally appointed Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, taking over from Ian Watmore, splitting his time between the two roles.[6] In his role as First Parliamentary Counsel he launched the Good Law initiative, seeking to reduce complexity in legislation.[9] In April 2014, he became Civil Service Race Champion.[8]

On 2 July 2015, it was announced that Heaton would leave the Cabinet Office to take up the position of Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Justice (formally, the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery), replacing Dame Ursula Brennan on her retirement.[10] His Cabinet Office roles were split: as Permanent Secretary, he was replaced by John Manzoni;[11] as First Parliamentary Counsel, Elizabeth Gardiner replaced him.[12]

As of 2015, Heaton was paid a salary of between £180,000 and £184,999 by the department, making him one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time.[13]

In July 2020, it was announced that Heaton would leave the Civil Service as Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Justice in August 2020.[14] He was succeeded by Antonia Romeo on 18 January 2021.[15]

Personal life

In 2011, he was placed at 91 on the Independent on Sunday Pink List, a list of influential British LGBT people.[16]

Honours

Heaton was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 2011.[17]

In the 2019 New Year Honours he was promoted to Knight Commander of the same order.[18]

References

1. Bavister, G. A. (8 September 2015). "Warrants Under the Royal Sign Manual". The London Gazette. HM Government. Retrieved 11 September 2015. The Queen has been pleased by Royal Warrant bearing date 1 September 2015 to appoint Richard Nicholas Heaton, Esquire, CB to the Office of Clerk of the Crown in Chancery.
2. "New Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary" (Press release). Cabinet Office. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
3. Dudman, Jane (6 August 2012). "Richard Heaton becomes part-time Cabinet Office permanent secretary". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
4. "New First Parliamentary Counsel" (Press release). Cabinet Office. 29 November 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
5. "Heaton, Sir Richard (Nicholas)". Who's Who 2020. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2019. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-44866. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
6. Chambers, Joshua (17 October 2012). "Interview: Richard Heaton". Civil Service World. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
7. "Richard Nicholas HEATON". Debrett's People of Today. Debrett's. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
8. "Richard Heaton". gov.uk. HM Government. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
9. Cameron, Sue (22 May 2013). "The laws of the land aren't fit for purpose". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
10. "New Permanent Secretary at Ministry of Justice announced" (Press release). Ministry of Justice. 2 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
11. "New Permanent Secretary for Cabinet Office announced: John Manzoni - Press releases - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
12. "First Parliamentary Counsel appointed: Elizabeth Gardiner - Press releases - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
13. "Senior officials 'high earners' salaries as at 30 September 2015 - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. 2015-12-17. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
14. "Fourth senior civil servant announces exit in six months". The British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
15. "Appointment of Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Justice" (Press release). Ministry of Justice. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
16. Herbert, Ian (23 October 2011). "The IoS Pink List 2011". Independent on Sunday. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
17. "Queen's birthday honours list: Knights". The Guardian. 11 June 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
18. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/768173/NY19_Queens_List__4_.pdf

External links

• Richard Heaton on Twitter