Elizabeth Gardiner took up the post of First Parliamentary Counsel and Permanent Secretary of the Government in Parliament Group in the Cabinet Office on 24 November 2015.

She joined the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel as an Assistant Parliamentary Counsel in 1991, and has spent over 20 years as a legislative drafter working on a full range of legislative projects. This included working on consolidation and law reform projects at the Law Commission and leading the team drafting tax legislation.