Richard Heaton

Sir Richard Nicholas Heaton, KCB (born 5 October 1965) is a barrister and former senior British civil servant who was the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and Clerk of the Crown in Chancery from September 2015 until resigning in August 2020. He had previously served as Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, and First Parliamentary Counsel. He currently serves as Warden of Robinson College, Cambridge. Early life and education Heaton was born on 5 October 1965. He read law at Worcester College, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1987. Career Heaton worked as a barrister, after being called to the bar at Inner Temple in 1988. He joined the Government Legal Service in 1991 where he remained until moving to the Department for Constitutional Affairs in 2004 where he served as Director of Legal Services. He then went on to work as Head of law and governance at the Department for Work and Pensions from 2007 to 2009, and Director General for pensions and ageing society from 2009 to 2012. In February 2012, Heaton became First Parliamentary Counsel, replacing the retiring Sir Stephen Laws. In August 2012, he was additionally appointed Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, taking over from Ian Watmore, splitting his time between the two roles. In his role as First Parliamentary Counsel he launched the Good Law initiative, seeking to reduce complexity in legislation. In April 2014, he became Civil Service Race Champion.