Diversity in the Senior Civil Service continues to increase according to new figures released today. Overall, the number of Civil Servants has increased by 2.6 percent despite earlier government assurances that numbers would be reduced. At 1 April 2004, the number of permanent Civil Servants was 523,580 (full-time equivalents) In the complete year to April 2004, the number of staff increased by 13,460 or 2.6 per cent. Representation of staff from ethnic minority backgrounds, women and disabled people has increased.

In 1998 the Government made a commitment to ensure that the Civil Service becomes more open and diverse, by achieving by 2004-05 the agreed targets of: 35% Senior Civil Service (SCS) to be women, 25% of top 600 posts to be filled by women, 3.2% of the SCS to be from ethnic minority background and 3% of the SCS to be people with disabilities.

Civil Service staffing figures for April 2004 and Cabinet Office data indicate that:

* 24.4% of those in the very top management posts are women (up from 12.7% in April 1998);

* 27.8% of the Senior Civil Service are women (up from 17.8% in April 1998);

* 3.3% of staff at Senior Civil Service level are from minority ethnic backgrounds (up from 1.6% in April 1998); and

* 2.3% of staff at Senior Civil Service level are disabled (up from 1.5% in April 1998).

Ruth Kelly, Cabinet Office Minister said: 'The Government is committed to achieving a Civil Service that reflects the population we serve, including at senior levels, and recognises the need for further progress and sustained effort to accomplish this aspiration. I am pleased that the Civil Service continues to make progress in addressing the under-representation of women and minority ethnic staff at senior levels of the Civil Service and hope that we can build on the increase in disabled staff.'

Sir Andrew Turnbull, Head of the Home Civil Service, said: 'Increasing diversity is a key element in increasing our skills and building our leadership capacity. I am pleased the Senior Civil Service continues to become more visibly diverse, which builds on our capacity to engage effectively with diverse communities and so develop policies and deliver services in ways which benefit everyone in society.'

As part of Spending Review 2004, the Government set new targets for representation in the Senior Civil Service, as part of a wider commitment to build the capacity of the Civil Service to deliver the Government's priorities by improving leadership, skills and diversity, by achieving agreed targets by 2008

These actions include:

* Programmes to support women:

* Programmes to bring on more disabled staff:

* Improving the quality of data on the numbers of disabled staff:

* Programmes to bring on more minority ethnic staff across the Service: Continue to develop minority ethnic staff through 'Pathways' Programme - set up for minority ethnic staff with the potential to reach the SCS. Twenty - seven ethnic minority staff were selected to participate in the scheme in 2003. Evaluation of Pathways shows that almost a third of participants have been promoted.

* A network of individual departmental Diversity Champions was launched in the summer of 2004:

* The appointment of a new Senior Adviser on Diversity and Equality: Waqar Azmi joined on 1 October 2004 and he will play a key role in supporting departments in taking action on these issues. He is based in the Cabinet Office.

As part of the Spending Review 2004, the Government has committed to new targets to achieve by 2008, which state that 37% of the Senior Civil Service to be women; 30% of top management posts to be women; 4% of the Senior Civil Service to be from ethnic minority backgrounds; and 3.2% of the Senior Civil Service to be people with disabilities.

Further information on diversity in the Civil Service can be found at www.diversity-whatworks.gov.uk

LATEST CIVIL SERVICE NUMBERS PUBLISHED

At 1 April 2004, the number of permanent Civil Servants was 523,580 (full-time equivalents). The number of permanent staff increased by 12,280 or 2.4 per cent. There was an increase of 1,180 in the number of casual staff, so the overall level of staffing increased by 13,460 or 2.6 per cent.

On a headcount basis, over the six month period to April 2004, numbers of full-time permanent staff increased 5,500 and the number of part-time staff increased by 4,850, bringing total staff numbers to 554,110. Part-time staff represent 16.8 per cent of all Civil Servants, up from 16.4 per cent in October 2003 the same as April 2003.

Main Changes in Departments and Agencies Organisational changes during the six months to April 2004 include:

* The Rent Service transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

* OFTEL ceased to exist from 29 December 2003 and all functions transferred to the new regulator for Office of Communications (OFCOM) which is a public corporation.

* Radiocommunications Agency also transferred its functions to OFCOM.

Explanations for changes in permanent staff numbers in the six months to April 2004 include:

* Inland Revenue - up 3,500 this was due to additional staffing for the New Tax Credit renewals and the modernisation of Stamp Duty.

* Department for Work and Pensions - up 2,080 principally due to the transfer of The Rent Service and an increase in Jobcentre Plus.

* HM Prison Service - up 1,120 in reflecting the rise in prison population.

* Home Office - up 910 staff numbers continue to rise as a result of operational needs in Immigration and Nationality.

* Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency - up 360 as a result of additional staffing levels to accommodate changes in legislation relating to 'Continuous Licensing and Statutory Off Road Notifications'.

* Crown Prosecution Service - up 330 as a result of additional staffing being recruited as a result of the Charging Initiative.

Variations in casual staffing levels can be attributed to the local needs of departments.

DIVERSITY IN THE CIVIL SERVICE

Diversity figures as at 1 April 2004 show:

* 289,970 staff working in the Civil Service were women; 52.3 per cent of staff in post, compared with 52.4 per cent in October 2003.

The proportion of staff who were from ethnic minority groups was around 8.2 per cent, compared to 8.1 per cent in October 2003. Data from the Labour Force Survey for spring 2004 shows that, on a comparable basis, 7.3 per cent of the UK economically active population were from ethnic minority backgrounds.

* The proportion of staff known to have a disability was 4.2 per cent, compared to 4.3 per cent in October 2003. The issues associated with the Ministry of Defence data concerning disability status have now been resolved, and so the overall Civil Service figures from 1 October 2003 include Ministry of Defence disability data. The inclusion of this data for the Ministry of Defence affects the proportion of people recorded as having a disability in the Civil Service as a whole.

* These statistics on ethnic backgrounds and disability should, however, be interpreted with caution, particularly year on year changes. Information on Ethnic Background and Disability status is collected on voluntary, self-classification questionnaires and there are a considerable number of non-respondents. Cabinet Office continues to support departments and agencies in improving their response rates and we are confident that further improvements will accrue in the longer term as new entrants are added to the system and departments and agencies re-survey staff who have not yet responded.

Further information from www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk

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