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Finance chief becomes MoD's top civil servant
24 August 2012Ministry of Defence finance chief Jon Thompson is to become the department's new Permanent under Secretary, it has been announced.
Thompson took up his current post as the MoD's Director General of Finance in January 2009 and will become the ministry's Permanent Under Secretary (PUS) on 3 September this year.
Thompson's appointment was approved by the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary. His predecessor, Ursula Brennan, left earlier this year to helm the Ministry of Justice, and Tom Kane has been acting as temporary PUS in the interim.
Qualified accountant Thompson has worked for Ernst & Young, was Ofsted's first finance director and served as director general finance at the Department for Education and Skills. In 2007 he led the creation of the Department of Children, Schools and Families and became director general of corporate services.
From 2008 to 2011, he was also head of the government finance profession at the Treasury, with responsibility for overall financial management standards across the civil service.
In a message to staff, Thompson said it was a "privilege" to have been chosen as the department's new Permanent Under Secretary.
"As director general of finance, I have seen the passion and commitment that defence inspires in our people," he said. "The MoD is one of the great departments of state and should be a global exemplar for others to follow. It is a considerable honour to have been selected to lead the MoD as the Permanent Secretary, as we transform the organisation while ensuring success on operations."
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said Thompson was "well known and highly respected" for his work in the MoD to date.
"I have worked with him closely and very much welcome his appointment. I know that he will relish the opportunity to deliver a leaner and more efficient department that makes the hard-headed decisions that are required so that we can focus on maximising resource for the front line.
"We have a lot of work to do to build on the balancing of the MoD's budget, and we will work closely together to do so."
HAVE YOUR SAY
24 August 2012
Spreadsheet Phil strikes again! Seriously I hope he sorts out the financial waste that has gone on for far too long in the MoD. I also hope that his background as a financial professional doesn't mean that he has only been brought in to cut everything even more.
Mike R - Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire
24 August 2012
You know what they say about accountants, they the price of everything and the value of nothing. Meanwhile the MOD juggernaunt rumbles on burning cash with too little to show for it.
mikecml - Essex
24 August 2012
Thompson's always seemed a pretty straight shooter when he's appeared at the select committee sessions. No doubt he'll have efficiency in mind, but any further cuts are more likely to be down to politicians. Give him the benefit of the doubt - appointing an outsider would have risked inconsistency when MoD finances are pretty precariously fixed. He can only do the job he is allowed to do, but he seems a decent choice.
Mike Chesterfield - Derbyshire
26 August 2012
Thompson and Hammond were welded at the hip during the latter's mission around the TLBs to see what could be slashed and burnt, so he definitely knows the cost of everything. I don't think he's been in long enough, or been able to lift his head above the Departmental Financial Management Systems (Oracle balance sheets) long enough to examine the worth of anything, though. They've spent far too long worrying about the fine detail of very short-term, constantly-adjusted Commitment Control processes (choking off purchases) to assess the damage done and still to be done in carving away 40% of the MOD.
AlMiles - Bristol, UK
28 August 2012
No more armed forces by 2020, just a lot of desk bound penpushers at Whitehall
JC - UK
30 August 2012
Nor even penpushers in Whitehall, JC - they'll be in Serco or Atkins or BAeS.
AlMiles - Bristol, UK
31 August 2012
Some ones got to go make his coffee!
JC - UK