Leigh Lewis
Encyclopedia
Sir Leigh Lewis, KCB
(born 1951) is a retired senior British civil servant
, who served as the Permanent Secretary
for the British
Department for Work and Pensions
from 2006-2011.
Having graduated in Hispanic
studies from Liverpool University, Leigh Lewis joined the then Department of Employment as an Administrative Trainee in September 1973. He became Director of Operations for the Unemployment Benefit Service in 1986.
On returning to the Department of Employment in 1991, he became Director of the International Division and later, in 1994, Director of Finance. He retained that post when the Department for Education and the Employment Department Group merged in July 1995.
Leigh Lewis was appointed as Chief Executive of the Employment Service following an open competition in January 1997. In January 2001 he was appointed Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus
, a new business of the Department for Work and Pensions
. From April 2002 Jobcentre Plus
brought together the Employment Service and those parts of the Benefits Agency which deal with customers of working age, into a single work focused organisation.
In February 2003 Leigh Lewis was appointed to the Home Office
as Permanent Secretary
for Crime, Policing, Counter-Terrorism and Delivery, but subsequently returned to DWP as Permanent Secretary
to DWP in late 2005 until his retirement in 2011. Upon which, he was installed as the new chair of the Coalition Government's Commission on a UK Bill of Rights.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(born 1951) is a retired senior British civil servant
British Civil Service
Her Majesty's Home Civil Service, also known as the Home Civil Service, is the permanent bureaucracy of Crown employees that supports Her Majesty's Government - the government of the United Kingdom, composed of a Cabinet of ministers chosen by the prime minister, as well as the devolved...
, who served as the Permanent Secretary
Permanent Secretary
The Permanent secretary, in most departments officially titled the permanent under-secretary of state , is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis...
for the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Department for Work and Pensions
Department for Work and Pensions
The Department for Work and Pensions is the largest government department in the United Kingdom, created on June 8, 2001 from the merger of the employment part of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security and headed by the Secretary of State for Work and...
from 2006-2011.
Having graduated in Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
studies from Liverpool University, Leigh Lewis joined the then Department of Employment as an Administrative Trainee in September 1973. He became Director of Operations for the Unemployment Benefit Service in 1986.
On returning to the Department of Employment in 1991, he became Director of the International Division and later, in 1994, Director of Finance. He retained that post when the Department for Education and the Employment Department Group merged in July 1995.
Leigh Lewis was appointed as Chief Executive of the Employment Service following an open competition in January 1997. In January 2001 he was appointed Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus
Jobcentre Plus
Jobcentre Plus was a government agency for working-age people in Great Britain. The agency was formed when the Employment Service, which operated Jobcentres, merged with the Benefits Agency, which ran social security offices, and was re-named Jobcentre Plus on 1 April 2002...
, a new business of the Department for Work and Pensions
Department for Work and Pensions
The Department for Work and Pensions is the largest government department in the United Kingdom, created on June 8, 2001 from the merger of the employment part of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security and headed by the Secretary of State for Work and...
. From April 2002 Jobcentre Plus
Jobcentre Plus
Jobcentre Plus was a government agency for working-age people in Great Britain. The agency was formed when the Employment Service, which operated Jobcentres, merged with the Benefits Agency, which ran social security offices, and was re-named Jobcentre Plus on 1 April 2002...
brought together the Employment Service and those parts of the Benefits Agency which deal with customers of working age, into a single work focused organisation.
In February 2003 Leigh Lewis was appointed to the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
as Permanent Secretary
Permanent Secretary
The Permanent secretary, in most departments officially titled the permanent under-secretary of state , is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis...
for Crime, Policing, Counter-Terrorism and Delivery, but subsequently returned to DWP as Permanent Secretary
Permanent Secretary
The Permanent secretary, in most departments officially titled the permanent under-secretary of state , is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis...
to DWP in late 2005 until his retirement in 2011. Upon which, he was installed as the new chair of the Coalition Government's Commission on a UK Bill of Rights.