The Cabinet
Secretary and Head of the Civil Service, Sir Gus O’Donnell, is
pleased to announce that Lin Homer will be the next Chief
Executive Officer of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
Ms Homer, who is currently Permanent Secretary at the Department
for Transport, takes over from Lesley Strathie, who stepped down
last month on health grounds. The appointment has been approved by
the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
She will take up her post in January 2012.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, said:
“I
welcome Lin Homer’s appointment and am delighted that we will
continue to have a strong team at HMRC.”
Sir Gus said:
“I am very pleased to announce that Lin Homer
has been appointed as Chief Executive at HMRC. She has a wealth of
experience working in the public service in central and local government.
“I was very sorry that Lesley Strathie had to step down last
month, to concentrate on her health, at a time when HMRC was
achieving very real improvements in its performance, and I know
that Lin will build on Lesley’s achievements.”
Lin Homer said:
“I am delighted and honoured to be joining
HMRC at this time. Lesley will be a hard act to follow. The
department has achieved a great deal in recent years and I want to
anchor those achievements, continue the drive for better customer
service and sustainable cost reductions while bringing in more tax
revenues for the country.
“I am also pleased that Dave Hartnett, Permanent Secretary for
Tax, has agreed to stay on at HMRC until the summer of 2012, when
he will retire. Dave is widely-recognised as a tax leader at home
and abroad, and has secured billions in tax for the UK that would
otherwise have been lost through avoidance, evasion and fraud.
“I will greatly benefit from the experience and continuity
provided by both Mike Clasper and Dave Hartnett as I take up the
reins at HMRC.”
HMRC’s Non-Executive Chairman, Mike Clasper, said:
“I am
looking forward to working with Lin Homer as she leads the
continued transformation of HMRC started by Dame Lesley Strathie.
I am confident that this will deliver increased tax yields for the
UK, improved service for HMRC’s customers and an efficient and
engaged organisation.”
Mr Hartnett said:
“I am very pleased to have the opportunity
to work with Lin and will give her every support during the coming
months as she determines how to build on HMRC’s many achievements.”
Notes for editors
1. After qualifying as a lawyer in 1980, Lin Homer joined
Hertfordshire County Council, where she stayed for 15 years,
rising to Director of Corporate Services. She then left to join
Suffolk County Council as Chief Executive in 1998. After four
years at Suffolk, Lin went to be the Chief Executive of Birmingham
City Council in 2002. After three years at Birmingham, she joined
the civil service as the Director-General for the Immigration and
Nationality Directorate of the Home Office, in August 2005. The
Home Office was reorganised in 2008, with the formation of the
Border and Immigration Agency, later renamed the UK Border Agency,
of which Lin became the first Chief Executive. In 2010 she was
appointed as Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport.
2. HMRC is overseen by a Board of eight members including its
Chairman, Mike Clasper. A process to find a successor to Mike will
commence, as planned, early in 2012.
3. Dave Hartnett will turn 61 in February 2012. The usual
retirement age for a Permanent Secretary is 60.
4. An external competition for Lin Homer’s replacement at the
Department for Transport will be launched immediately.
5. Follow HMRC on Twitter @HMRCgovuk
NAT 103/11
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