Chief Executive of Citizens Advice

Policy Leaders Fellow Alumna, Centre for Science and Policy

Dame Clare Moriarty is Chief Executive of Citizens Advice. She leads the national charity and network of local Citizens Advice charities across England & Wales. Through 1:1 advice, online support and advocacy, Citizens Advice gives individuals the knowledge and confidence they need to find their way forward and speaks up on their behalf to bring about wider change.

Clare was previously a civil servant for nearly 35 years, latterly as Permanent Secretary of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2015 to 2019, and of the Department for Exiting the EU until its closure in January 2020. She held senior roles in the Department for Transport, as Director General for Corporate Services and Director General for Rail, and in the Ministry of Justice as Constitution Director.

Her early career was spent mainly in policy roles in the Department of Health and the NHS, including as Principal Private Secretary to both Conservative and Labour Secretaries of State for Health. She participated in the Cycle International of the École Nationale d’Administration, gaining the Diplôme International d’Administration Publique.

Clare studied maths at university and has a long-standing interest in science, technology and digital. She introduced Civil Service leaders to ‘unconferencing’ and championed the One Team Gov initiative dedicated to achieving reform through practical action. She was one of the first cohort of Policy Leader Fellows and was a member of the CSaP Advisory Council for a number of years.

After leaving the Civil Service, Clare chaired the Health Foundation’s Covid-19 impact inquiry before joining Citizens Advice in 2021. She is the senior independent member of Westminster Abbey’s Board, a trustee of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Treasurer of the History of Parliament Trust. She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 2020 Birthday Honours.