LATEST CIVIL SERVICE NUMBERS PUBLISHED

21 Feb 2002 11:16 AM

Civil Service Staff numbers for October 2001 were published today. At 1 October 2001, the number of permanent Civil Servants was 480,000 (full-time equivalents). This was a decrease of almost 2,700 or 0.6 per cent on six months earlier. There was, however, an increase of just over 1,200 in the number of casual staff between April 2001 and October 2001.

Taking permanent and casual staff together there was a decrease of over 1,400 or 0.3 per cent in comparison to April 2001 figures.

In the complete year to October 2001, the number of permanent staff increased by 1,500 or 0.3 per cent. There was a rise of around 300 in the number of casual staff, so the overall level of staffing increased by some 1,800 or 0.4 per cent.

Over the six month period to October 2001, numbers of full-time staff decreased by 4,800 and the number of part-time staff increased by 2,800 bringing total staff numbers on a headcount basis to 504,500. Part-time staff represent 14.4 per cent of all Civil Servants, up from 13.8 per cent six months before and 13.4 per cent in October 2000.

Main Changes in Departments and Agencies Organisational changes during the six months to October 2001 include the Machinery of Government changes following the general election in June 2001.

These include:

- Office of the Deputy Prime Minister established in the Cabinet Office. - A new Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs taking over responsibility for agriculture, the food industry, fisheries and the environment. - A new Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions - The Department of Trade and Industry taking over the Regional Development Agencies - The Home Office streamlined to focus on tackling crime, reform of the criminal justice system and asylum. - A new Department for Work and Pensions will continue the reform of the welfare state, bringing together the previous Department of Social Security and the Employment Service. - A new Department for Education and Skills focussing on raising standards in education further. - The Ministry of Defence (MOD) will take responsibility for the Security Service Group from the Cabinet Office and the War Pensions Agency from the former Department of Social Security. - Farming and Rural Conservation Agency are now contained within Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. - UK Passport Agency renamed Passport and Records Agency from spring 2001.

Significant changes in permanent staff numbers in the six months to October 2001 include:

- Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) - down 8,260 due to privatisations - Department of Work and Pensions, (DWP) The new DWP department was created from DSS and Employment Services. Staff were transferred from Benefits Agency back to their parent department. Additional staff were recruited following the introduction of the ''Focus on Delivery'' strategy. These changes resulted in a net increase of 8,190. - Benefits Agency - down 6,150 staff subsumed within parent department - OFSTED - up 1,730 as they have become responsible for the inspection of childminders and playgroups. Many staff transferred in from local authorities. - Child Support Agency - up 500 owing to new work arising from the Child Support reform policy programme. - Crown Prosecution Service - up 830 due to recruitment campaigns throughout 2001 and a review of the Personnel Management system.

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

Changes include:

- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - up 630 as the number of casual Animal Health Officers and support staff increased due to the outbreaks of foot and mouth disease. - Department for Work and Pensions - up 320 to meet local office requirements - National Assembly for Wales - up 110 due to seasonal fluctuations. - Scottish Executive - up 70 following devolution, due to increased volumes of work.

Diversity in the Civil Service Diversity figures as at 1 October 2001 show:

- 258,790 staff working in the Civil Service are women; 51.3 per cent of staff in post, compared with 50.5 per cent in April 2001. - The proportion of staff who are from ethnic minority groups has increased to around 7.2 per cent from 6.0 per cent in April 2001. Departments are currently resurveying the ethnicity of their staff to bring the data in line with the Census 2001 categories. The Ministry of Defence have been unable to supply ethnicity data as at 1 October because of the resulting changes to their system. If we include the latest reliable ethnicity data as at 1 April 2001 for MoD we estimate the proportion of ethnic minority staff with known ethnic background would be 6.3 per cent. - The proportion of staff known to have a disability has remained at approximately 3.1 per cent. The Ministry of Defence are currently resurveying their staff for disability and do not consider their current figures sufficiently accurate for inclusion in the overall Civil Service figure on this occasion. The exclusion of this data for MoD affects the proportion of people recorded as having a disability in the Civil Service as a whole and increases the non- response rate from around 16 to 25 per cent. There is a similar, but smaller impact on the SCS figures. This raises questions about the best way to calculate the level of staff with a disability, and we will consult on possible alternative methodologies. - These statistics on ethnic origins and disability should, however, be interpreted with caution, particularly year on year changes. Information on Ethnic Origin and Disability are collected on voluntary, self-classification questionnaires and there are a considerable number of non- respondents.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The headline staffing figures are full time equivalents and give appropriate weight to the hours worked by part-time staff in calculating full-time equivalents. On average, a part-time employee works for 3.2 days a week. Figures quoted in the news release are rounded. More detailed figures, including details on a headcount basis are also provided in the media brief, available from the Cabinet Press Office on request.

2. Staff employed in the Scottish Parliament, established in July, are not included in these figures. Like the Westminster Parliament, the Scottish Parliament is not part of the Civil Service.

3. Tables showing permanent and casual staff in post numbers at 1 October 2001 by department and by agency are available on the website address below. They give figures for non-industrial, industrial permanent and casual staff on a full-time equivalent basis and, also permanent staff on a headcount basis (full-time and part-time) staff. Civil Service summary staffing statistics are published twice a year, for April and October. Details of the numbers of staff in each department and executive agency are placed in the Libraries of the two Houses and made available on the Internet at: www.civil-service.gov.uk/statistics

4. More detailed statistical information about Civil Service staff, is published annually. Civil Service Statistics 2000 relating to the year to 1st April 2000, was published in August 2001 and is available to the media from Cabinet Office Press Office or on the Website above.

5. National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference.

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