The head of the civil service will not lead the cabinet for the first time in several legislatures in a move that has surprised government insiders.

Times of Malta is informed that newly appointed Principal Permanent Secretary Tony Sultana will not act as cabinet secretary, despite that role traditionally being filled by the head of the civil service.

Instead, the position is expected to be handed to Ryan Spagnol, 32, who currently works at the Office of the Prime Minister as a policy coordinator.

The secretary to the cabinet of ministers is a constitutional role with the holder tasked with coordinating all cabinet work across the government. The government’s Internal Audit and Investigations Department (IAID) also falls under the cabinet secretary’s responsibilities.

Senior civil servants said that concerns had been raised in the back halls of government at the administration’s decision to split the roles.

“This isn’t a matter of whether Ryan (Spagnol) is competent – he is a capable person. But the two roles – PPS and cabinet secretary have been tied together for the best part of two decades for good reason,” one senior civil servant said.

Times of Malta is informed that while Sultana has acted as a stand-in cabinet secretary in recent weeks, he will be handing the reins over to Spagnol this summer.

His appointment to replace longstanding PPS Mario Cutajar was formally approved last month and Sultana will be retaining his former position as head of the government IT agency MITA.