Institute for Government analysis of civil service headcount statistics

Whitehall Monitor #7 IfG analysis of civil service headcount statistics

The Government has committed to reductions of a third in departmental administrative spending – with some departments targeting even higher figures. With efficiency savings unlikely to deliver this scale of savings, departments are also planning headcount reductions.

In this edition of The Whitehall Monitor we look at the numbers that show how the reductions are beginning to be felt in across Whitehall.

Headlines - Reductions have kicked off, starting at the top – new figures compiled by the Institute for Government show that departments have seen a 14.5% reduction in their top civil servants since last summer1. - The Office for National Statistics (ONS) civil service headcount numbers released on 15 June show these reductions are starting to feed through to lower grades, with an overall headcount reduction of 4.2% in Whitehall since the spending review. - To put this in context, there was a 2.4% reduction in employment across the UK from the pre-recession peak in 2008 to the mid-recession low in 2010.2

Justine Stephen, leading this research at the Institute for Government, said:

“It is now clear that Whitehall is cutting from the top, with a sharp reduction in the most senior civil service jobs. And there are a host of redundancy schemes and restructurings taking place, which will be reflected in the coming months in falling headcounts at all grades. Reductions on this scale and pace are unprecedented – even in the early 1980s civil service numbers only dropped by 10%, which took four years to implement.”

1 Top civil servants – refers to Director General – Permanent Secretary grades. Comparison of data published summer/autumn 2010 by departments as part of the Transparency Agenda with information live on department’s websites about their current organisational structure, supplemented by specific enquiries. 2 Compares peak figures in Q2 2008 with lowest employment figures since the recession (Q1 2010). Source ONS Labour Force Survey. 1

Institute for Government analysis of civil service headcount statistics

Analysis

Reductions to top Civil Service numbers • Top civil service numbers fell by 14.5% since the spending review • This was a fall from 131 to 112 people, with the reduction reflecting posts which have now been abolished or merged • The largest drops in top Civil Service figures were in the , Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) Whole of Civil Service • Total Civil Service3 numbers decreased slightly between Q3 2010 and Q1 2011 (by 1.6% full time employees (FTE)4 or 7,550 FTE) • Excluding the figures for Census staff5, the whole of the Civil Service dropped by 3.1% FTE • As Figure 1 shows, this follows a slight downward trend from the peak in Q4 2009

Whitehall6 • After taking structural changes into account, the number of civil servants in core Whitehall departments decreased by 4.2% between Q3 2010 and Q1 2011, more than twice as fast as the overall civil service rate. • So far within Whitehall, the Department for Business, Information and Skills (BIS) has seen the largest FTE reduction (-360) representing a 9.6% FTE reduction since the spending review reflecting redundancy schemes run last year (see Figure 2 and Figure 3). There have also been substantial new reductions in the last quarter, with Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), , DCLG, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department for Transport (DfT) reducing by over 200 FTE since the spending review. • Within Whitehall DCLG and DfT have both reduced by more than 10%, with BIS (-9.6%), Home Office (-9.4%) and the Treasury (HMT) (-8.8%) close behind. • The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), Department of Health (DH) and Cabinet Office all saw small increases within their Whitehall figures. DECC increased the most in percentage terms, rising by 2.7% (or 30 FTE) since the spending review.

Non-Whitehall Civil Service • The number of civil servants outside of the core Whitehall departments saw a proportionally smaller decrease since the spending review reducing by 1.6% or 6,770 FTE • However, if the Census staff are excluded, then the underlying figures non-Whitehall civil servants show a 3.3% reduction

3 Including core Whitehall departments & non-Whitehall Civil Service 4 FTE – Full Time Equivalent provides a measure based on the hours the employee is contracted to work (e.g. someone who works 2.5 days per week would be 0.5 FTE). We’ve used FTE rather than headcount figures as the latter does not differentiate between fulltime & part-time employees. 5 Listed as Census Field & GROS Census Field in the ONS data 6 We have defined ‘Whitehall’ using the core department figures (excluding separately defined agencies & arms length bodies) provided in the ONS data. The Welsh Assembly & have been excluded from the core Whitehall figures. The ONS data appears to include elements beyond the Whitehall office of the Ministry of Defence within their ‘Ministry of Defence’ figures. As a result the figures for ‘Ministry of Defence’ have been categorised as ‘Non-Whitehall Civil Service’.

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Institute for Government analysis of civil service headcount statistics

• Non-Whitehall Civil Service figures saw steep rises marked under HMT and the Scottish Government which can be attributed to the additions of 5,920 Census and 1,450 General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) Census staff since the spending review baseline. • In terms of non-Whitehall Civil Service, DWP have seen the biggest decrease in absolute terms (5,530 FTE reduction). (see Figure 4) Next steps The Institute for Government will continue to monitor the ONS quarterly headcount statistics – the next update will be in September 2011.

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Institute for Government analysis of civil service headcount statistics

Annex

Table 1: Civil Service FTE headcounts by department Dept. Whitehall FTE Q1 2011 Non-Whitehall FTE Q1 2011 Total FTE Q1 2011 Attorney General’s Office (AGO) 40 8,900 8,940 Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) 3,400 8,120 11,520 Cabinet Office (CO) 1,520 1,580 3,100 Dept of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) 2,250 1,950 4,200 Dept of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) 450 120 570 Dept of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) 1,150 - 1,150 Dept of the Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) 2,530 6,880 9,410 Dept for Education (DfE) 2,660 1,620 4,280 Dept for International Development (DfID) 1,570 - 1,570 Dept for Transport (DfT) 1,860 15,810 17,670 Dept of Health (DH) 2,560 2,460 5,020 Dept of Work and Pensions (DWP) 11,890 97,700 109,590 Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) 5,660 5,370 11,030 Government Equalities Office (GEO) 110 - 110 HM Treasury (HMT) 1,240 80,330 81,570 Home Office (HO) 2,780 24,600 27,380 Ministry of Defence (MoD) - 72,080 72,080 Ministry of Justice (MoJ) 4,510 73,700 78,210 Northern Ireland Office (NIO) 100 - 100 Scottish Government - 17,890 17,890 Welsh Assembly Government - 5,450 5,450 4

Institute for Government analysis of civil service headcount statistics

Figure 1: Civil Service FTE figures by quarter – including structural changes Total civil service FTE figures have seen a small decline (- 1.6%) since the spending review baseline (Q3 2010). Whilst the figures show that the Core Whitehall total went up slightly since the baseline, this includes structural changes brining in 1269 staff from NOMS from the No-Whitehall figures into the core department total.

Civil service FTE figures, shown by core 'Whitehall' department & Non-Whitehall Civil Service 600000

500000

400000

300000

200000

100000

0 2009 Q1 FTE 2009 Q2 FTE 2009 Q3 FTE 2009 Q4 FTE 2010 Q1 FTE 2010 Q2 FTE 2010 Q3 FTE 2010 Q4 FTE 2011 Q1 FTE Non-Whitehall Civil Service 442740 445780 451160 450660 445430 439880 431330 422860 424560 Core Whitehall Depts. 46060 46830 46950 47110 46900 47720 47060 47370 46280

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Institute for Government analysis of civil service headcount statistics

Figure 2: Whitehall core department FTE change from baseline Looking at absolute FTE reductions from the core departments, BIS, DWP, Home Office and DCLG all stand out as the biggest reductions. In contrast Cabinet Office, DH and DECC have all seen small increases to their core departments

Change in Q1 2011 from adjusted Q3 2010 baseline - Core Whitehall [FTE] 50

0

-50

-100

-150

-200

-250

-300

-350

-400 AGO BIS CO DCLG DCMS DECC DEFRA DfE DfID DfT DH DWP FCO GEO HMT HO MoJ NIO FTE -10 -360 20 -270 -10 30 -60 -140 -30 -210 20 -310 -240 0 -120 -290 -59 -10 Notes: a) Q3 2010 baseline is adjusted to take account of structural [MoG] changes that have occured since then

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Institute for Government analysis of civil service headcount statistics

Figure 3: Whitehall core department FTE % change from baseline In terms of the % change, DCLG and DfT are leading with cuts of over 10% since the spending review. Overall, core Whitehall numbers have reduced by 4.2%

Change in Q1 2011 from adjusted Q3 2010 baseline - Core Whitehall [%]

4.0%

2.0%

0.0%

-2.0%

-4.0%

-6.0%

-8.0%

-10.0%

-12.0% All AGO BIS CO DCLG DCMS DECC DEFRA DfE DfID DfT DH DWP FCO GEO HMT HO MoJ NIO Depts. % change -9.6% 1.3% -10.7% -2.2% 2.7% -2.3% -5.0% -1.9% -10.1% 0.8% -2.5% -4.1% -8.8% -9.4% -1.3% -4.2% Notes: a) Q3 2010 baseline is adjusted to take account of structural [MoG] changes that have occured since then b)Departments below a threshold of 400 FTE in Q4 2010 are shown as 0% change [AGO, GEO, NIO]. This is because the ONS source data rounds to 10 FTE, which could present a significant distortion to smaller department % change figures

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Institute for Government analysis of civil service headcount statistics

Figure 4: Non-Whitehall Civil Service FTE changes from the baseline DWP is leading the field in terms of the numbers of FTE cut since the spending review outside of Whitehall. The marked increases for HMT and the Scottish Government are primarily attributable to the addition of 7,370 Census staff since the spending review baseline.

Change in Q1 2011 from adjusted Q3 2010 baseline - Non Whitehall Civil Service [FTE] 6000

4000

2000

0

-2000

-4000

-6000

-8000 Welsh AGO BIS CO DCLG DCMS DEFRA DfE DfT DH DWP FCO HMT HO MoD MoJ Scot Gov Ass FTE -200 -340 -370 -140 10 -190 -50 -520 -110 -5530 -290 5190 -1400 -1510 -961 1070 -160

Notes: a) Q3 2010 baseline is adjusted to take account of structural [MoG] changes that have occured since then b)HMT increase includes the addition of 5920 Census staff from the baseline figure of 180 c) Scot Gov increase s includes the addition of 1450 GROS census staff from the baseline figure of 70

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Institute for Government analysis of civil service headcount statistics

Figure 5: Non-Whitehall Civil Service FTE % change from baseline Cabinet Office shows the biggest FTE % change reducing by 19% of its FTEs since the spending review. The vast majority of this came from the Central Office of Information redundancies in Q3 2010 (see Whitehall Monitor #6 for further details)

Change in Q1 2011 from adjusted Q3 2010 baseline - Non-Whitehall Civil Service [%] 10.0%

5.0%

0.0%

-5.0%

-10.0%

-15.0%

-20.0%

-25.0% Welsh AGO BIS CO DCLG DCMS DEFRA DfE DfT DH DWP FCO HMT HO MoD MoJ Scot Gov All Depts. Ass % -2.2% -4.0% -19.0% -6.7% -2.7% -3.0% -3.2% -4.3% -5.4% -5.1% 6.9% -5.4% -2.1% -1.3% 6.4% -2.9% -1.6%

Notes: a) Q3 2010 baseline is adjusted to take account of structural [MoG] changes that have occured since then b)Departments below a threshold of 400 FTE in Q1 2011 are shown as 0% change [DCMS]. This is because the ONS source data rounds to 10 FTE, which could present a significant distortion to smaller department % change figures

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Institute for Government analysis of civil service headcount statistics

Table 2: Civil Service bodies grouped by core Whitehall departments

Dept. Includes AGO Attorney General's Office (Whitehall) Crown Prosecution Service Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate National Fraud Authority Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office Serious Fraud Office Treasury Solicitor BIS Business, Innovation and Skills (Whitehall) Formerly Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Whitehall) Formerly Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (Whitehall) Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service Companies House Insolvency Service National Measurement Office Office of Fair Trading Office of Gas and Electricity Market Postal Services Commission Skills Funding Agency UK Intellectual Property Office Export Credit Guarantee Department CLG Department for Communities and Local Government (Whitehall) Fire Service College Ordnance Survey Planning Inspectorate Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre CO Cabinet Office excl agencies (Whitehall) Buying Solutions Central Office of Information National School of Government Office of the Parliamentary Counsel Charity Commission DCMS Department for Culture Media and Sport Royal Parks DECC Department for Energy and Climate Change DEFRA Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Whitehall) Animal Health Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science Food & Environment Research Agency Government Decontamination Services Marine Fisheries Agency OFWAT Rural Payments Agency Veterinary Laboratories Agency Veterinary Medicines Directorate DfE Department for Education (formerly DCSF) (Whitehall) Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation Ofsted DfID Department for International Development (Whitehall) DfT Department for Transport (Whitehall) Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency Driving Standards Agency Government Car and Despatch Agency Highways Agency Maritime and Coastguard Agency Office of Rail Regulation Vehicle and Operator Services Agency Vehicle Certification Agency DH Department of Health (excl agencies) (Whitehall) Food Standards Agency Meat Hygiene Service Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency National Healthcare Purchasing and Supplies NHS Business Services Authority DWP DWP Corporate and Shared Services (Whitehall) 10

Institute for Government analysis of civil service headcount statistics

Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission Jobcentre Plus Pensions & Disability Carers Service The Health and Safety Executive The Rent Service FCO Foreign and Commonwealth Office (excl agencies) (Whitehall) Wilton Park Security and Intelligence Services GEO Government Equalities Office (Whitehall) HMT HM Treasury (Whitehall) Debt Management Office Government Actuary's Department HM Revenue and Customs National Savings and Investments Office of Government Commerce OGC Buying Solutions Royal Mint Valuation Office Census Field UK Statistics Authority HO Home Office (excl agencies) (Whitehall) Criminal Records Bureau Identity and Passport Service UK Border Agency MoD Defence Science and Technology Laboratory Defence Support Group Meteorological Office Ministry of Defence UK Hydrographic Office MoJ Ministry of Justice (excl agencies) (Whitehall) HM Courts Service Land Registry National Archives National Offender Management Service Scotland Office The Office of the Public Guardian Tribunals Service UK Supreme Court Wales Office NIO Northern Ireland Office (Whitehall) Scot Gov Scottish Government (excl agencies) Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Disclosure Scotland Fisheries Research Services General Register Scotland GROS Census Field Historic Scotland HM Inspectorate of Education Mental Health Tribunal Scotland National Archive for Scotland Office for the Scottish Charity Regulator Office of Registers of Scotland Scottish Court Service Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency Scottish Housing Regulator Scottish Law Commission Headquarters Scottish Public Pensions Agency Social Work Inspection Agency Student Awards Agency Transport Scotland Welsh Ass Welsh Assembly Government ESTYN

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