Several civil servants responsible for overseeing higher education were on our list in 2015, but there are more this year and they are higher up in 2016 to reflect the more active role the government is taking in HE policy. Philippa Lloyd is a member of the Department for Education Board and reports directly to Jo Johnson, Justine Greening, and the DfE Permanent Secretary. Overseeing all HE and FE work in the department, she will currently have her hands extremely full with the HE Bill, Skills White Paper, postgraduate loans, and of course the TEF all on her to-do list.
Lloyd is a long-standing civil servant who previously held the same role in BIS and has been Principal Private Secretary to three different secretaries of state. She also has a DPhil in Atmospheric Physics from the University of Oxford. For those seeking to gain access to the minister or to influence the implementation of the government’s HE reforms, Lloyd is the person whose ear you need.