Leslie Evans was appointed as Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government on July 1, 2015. In this role, she is principal policy adviser to the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, and Secretary to the Scottish Cabinet. Leslie is the most senior civil servant in Scotland – the first woman to hold this role – and leads a team of over 5,000 civil servants.

The event will be chaired by Calum Miller, Chief Operating Officer and Associate Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government and former senior UK civil servant. The talk will be followed by a Q&A with Leslie Evans, Jennie Barugh (Director for Performance and Strategic Outcomes) and Carol Tannahill (Chief Social Policy Adviser).