Dame Clare Moriarty Chair

Clare will provide strategic advice and independent leadership of the COVID-19 impact inquiry programme of work, as well as chairing the expert advisory group.

Clare is currently Chief Executive of Citizens Advice for England and Wales. She was a civil servant for 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. Clare held senior roles in the Department for Transport, including as 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.

As Chair of the Civil Service Leadership and Talent Board, Clare led work on growing the next generation of Civil Service leaders. She is recognised for her work on diversity and inclusion, and has spoken extensively on leadership and the importance of creating space for difference.

Clare was recently appointed as a government Special Representative attending the Transport for London Board. She is a member of the Westminster Abbey Institute Council of Reference and the Advisory Council for the Cambridge Centre for Science & Policy.

Clare became a Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath for public service in the 2020 Honours List.