Honours and awards: Hurrah at Durbar

Last week, King’s Birthday Honours recipients and Civil Service Awards finalists were welcomed to an event at Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Durbar Court to celebrate their successes. 

It’s Black Friday season, and even the Civil Service can’t resist an exciting two-for-one deal. How? Well, on 12 November, it was a double celebration when King’s Birthday Honours recipients and Civil Service Awards finalists gathered for a reception hosted by Cat Little, Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office and Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service. Guests heard from Clare Brunton OBE and Ellen Atkinson CBE who each spoke about the importance of recognising the great work across the Civil Service and how everyone should take pride. 

Joining the esteemed speakers, two talented civil servants shared reflections on their work, thrilled at just how much the royal seal of approval meant. 

Phillida Strachan OBE, Head of Humanitarian Response at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was honoured in the King’s Birthday List for services to international development. Phillida gave a shout-out to everyone who worked on the UK’s humanitarian responses for all crises such as Ukraine and Gaza, and recounted stories of the human lives behind the headlines. 

She recalled a ‘Two Ronnies’ style moment at the FCDO when her team were tasked urgently with helping ‘six children’. After a runaround finding out who these six children could possibly be, it transpired the Minister actually meant they were helping ‘sick children’.

Also on stage was Helen Waite OBE from the Department for Education , honoured for services to education, crowning a 24-year career, improving the outcomes of hundreds of thousands of children and families. 

One of many moving anecdotes was the story of Bly Twomey, one of thousands of beneficiaries of the Holiday Activities and Food Programme which Helen was instrumental in delivering. After taking a shine to table tennis at Helen’s after school club in Brighton and Hove in 2021, Bly went on to become one of the youngest Paralympians at Paris 2024 - taking home two Bronze medals for TeamGB.

Bly was just one of dozens of real-life stories illustrating the positive impact civil servants can have on people.

We also caught up with some finalists ahead of the Civil Service Awards ceremony on 10 December.

They included team members from the UK Home Office Asylum Transformation Programme, finalists for the ‘Best Use of Data and Technology’ category. Asylum Transformation Programme Director Matt Dixon said: “I’m incredibly proud of the team that their work has been recognised. No major programme is delivered unless you have the right people doing the right activities.” 

Ahmed Enape, who works in the Programme Management Office said; “It’s an honour our programme made it to the final. We’re really excited about the ceremony - and looking forward to hopefully winning!” 

For the first time, this year has seen a finalist from Ofsted : the Early Years Data and Analysis Team - who are finalists in the ‘Evaluation and Analysis’ category.

Anita Patel, Early Years Data and Analysis Team Leader said “We’re proud to be nominated as part of our category, particularly due to the successes of our innovative analysis in collaboration with others. This analysis has been instrumental in the early evaluation of a £14 billion investment in expanded childcare entitlements and their potential influence on local labour market participation”.

The team is spread around the country, from Bristol, London to Birmingham and came together to celebrate their great work and its impact on the wider public. 

The Civil Service Awards ceremony takes place on 10 December at Lancaster House and will recognise the great work across government. 

From delivering for citizens to developing and supporting our people, the Awards celebrate inspiring stories across the Civil Service. Find out more about the finalists and the Awards categories.