Jeremy Pocklington appointed MOD Permanent Secretary
Jeremy Pocklington has been appointed Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, following approval by the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Secretary. He moves from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and succeeds David Williams, who is leaving the Civil Service. The UK Government announced the move on 31 October 2025.
If you teach politics or you’re studying how government really works, this role matters. A Permanent Secretary is the most senior civil servant in a department. They run the organisation day to day, advise ministers, and-crucially-act as the department’s Accounting Officer, the person Parliament can call to explain how public money was used. In plain terms: ministers decide, but the Permanent Secretary must make sure the machine can deliver and that the spending is proper, regular, good value and feasible.
Why this is big for defence: the National Audit Office has said the MOD’s 10‑year equipment plan was forecast to exceed its budget by £16.9 billion in the 2023–2033 cycle. That gap doesn’t mean everything stops, but it does mean sharper choices, tougher sequencing and clearer evidence on value for money. The Permanent Secretary signs off on major programme assessments and appears before the Public Accounts Committee to justify them.
Who is taking the job: Pocklington is an experienced Whitehall leader who has already run a major department at DESNZ and previously served at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Ministers and the Cabinet Secretary described him as bringing strong delivery experience to defence at a demanding moment.
Quick explainer: how these appointments happen. Permanent Secretaries are formally appointed by the Prime Minister, but must be chosen on merit after fair and open competition. External competitions at this level are chaired by the independent First Civil Service Commissioner, who oversees that the rules are followed. In this case, the government confirms the decision followed an external recruitment exercise.
Policy context you can teach from: the government’s Strategic Defence Review, published and presented to Parliament on 2 June 2025, set out plans to modernise procurement, speed up adoption of new technology and reconnect the public with service. Pocklington’s brief is to help turn that into delivery-aligning money, people and projects so reform sticks.
People and money facts to ground the debate. As of 1 October 2024, the MOD employed around 56,800 civilian staff (full‑time equivalent), with a planning forecast of about 55,430 by 1 April 2025. Figures move with policy and recruitment, but they show the size of the civilian system the Permanent Secretary leads alongside military chiefs.
Accountability in practice. If a minister asks for spending that the Accounting Officer believes would fail tests on propriety, regularity, value for money or feasibility, they must seek a formal “ministerial direction.” That letter is then disclosed to the Comptroller and Auditor General and normally published, so students and researchers can see when advice was overruled. This is a powerful learning tool for media literacy and scrutiny.
What this means for you. If you’re in a classroom, use this appointment as a case study: identify one live defence programme and map who is accountable for decisions, spending and delivery. If you work in education or youth groups, this is a moment to discuss public service leadership-how unelected officials keep long programmes on course while governments change.
What to watch next. The Cabinet Office notes that details on replacing the DESNZ Permanent Secretary will follow. In MOD, look out for early letters from the new Permanent Secretary to select committees and for updated assessments on the affordability of programmes under the Strategic Defence Review. Those signals will tell us how reform plans are being translated into budgets and contracts.