About the Civil Service
Civil Service Statistics 2005 annual report
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Diversity
Cabinet Office produces statistics regarding the gender, ethnic origin, disability status and age of the Civil Service workforce. All diversity data relate to civil servants counted on a headcount basis. They include permanent non-industrials and industrials and exclude casual staff. In addition to the tables referred to in the following commentary, attached are further diversity tables including analyses by Government Office Region and working pattern.
- Table H: Permanent staff by department, responsibility level, ethnic origin and gender; 2005 [MS XLS 24KB, 1 pages]
- Table I: Permanent staff by Government Office Region, responsibility level and ethnic origin; 2005 [MS XLS 21KB, 1 pages]
- Table J: Permanent staff by Government Office Region, responsibility level and disability status; 2005 [MS XLS 23KB, 1 pages]
- Table K: Permanent staff by Government Office Region, responsibility level and gender; 2005 [MS XLS 23KB, 1 pages]
- Table L: Working pattern of permanent staff by responsibility level and ethnic origin; 2005 [MS XLS 272KB, 1 pages]
- Table M: Working pattern of permanent staff by responsibility level and disability status; 2005 [MS XLS 17KB, 1 pages]
- Table N: Permanent staff in post for all staff and Senior Civil Service level by gender; 2005 [MS XLS 54KB, 1 pages]
- Table O: Permanent staff in post for all staff and Senior Civil Service level by ethnic origin; 2005 [MS XLS 56KB, 1 pages]
- Table P: Permanent staff in post for all staff and Senior Civil Service level by disability status; 2005 [MS XLS 53KB, 1 pages]
Gender
On 1 April 2005, 52.4 per cent of all permanent staff were women, virtually the same as the previous year.
In respect of the working pattern of female staff by broad responsibility level (Table F), women made up the majority of staff in junior grades. On 1 April 2005, 61.9 per cent of administrative staff were women compared to 62.0 per cent a year earlier. The proportion of women in the more senior grades has continued to increase: on 1 April 2005 the proportion of women in Grades 6/7 increased to 34.8 per cent from 32.7 per cent in April 2004. A comparison of these figures from April 2004 and April 2005 is shown in Chart 5.
Chart 6 shows a comparison of figures regarding part-time staff by responsibility level on 1 April 2004 and 1 April 2005. As at April 2005, 17.6 per cent of civil servants worked part-time hours. Part-time working was most common in the lower grades with 23.4 per cent of administrative staff working part-time hours. In comparison, 8.7 per cent of staff in Grades 6/7 and 5.6 per cent of staff at SCS level worked part-time.
Table F also shows that on 1 April 2005, 89.5 per cent of all part-time staff were women, a slight decrease from 89.7 per cent in April 2004.
- Table F: Working pattern of permanent female staff by responsibility level; 2005 [MS XLS 19KB, 1 pages]
- Chart 5: Female staff as a percentage of staff by responsibility level; 2004 and 2005
- Chart 6: Part-time staff as a percentage of all staff by responsibility level; 2004 and 2005
Ethnic Origin
On 1 April 2005 the proportion of staff from minority ethnic backgrounds was 8.1 per cent (Table D). This was a slight decrease from 8.2 per cent a year earlier.
- Table D: Ethnic origin of permanent staff by responsibility level; 2005 [MS XLS 16KB, 1 pages]
In spring 2005, 7.7 per cent of the economically active UK population of working age were from minority ethnic backgrounds according to the Labour Force Survey [External website].
As in previous years, staff from minority ethnic backgrounds continue to be more highly represented in the junior grades. On 1 April 2005, 9.4 per cent of staff in administrative grades were from an ethnic minority, and the proportion of staff in the Executive Officer (EO) grade equivalents was 9.0 per cent. A comparison of these figures from April 2005 and those from April 2004 is shown in Chart 7.
Data on ethnic origin are affected by changes in data quality (see paragraph on Diversity: Non-response) and in the grade structure (see section on Pay and Grading), and may also be affected by the introduction of new ethnicity categories back in 2001. Therefore they need to be interpreted with some caution.
Response rates continue to rise following the re-survey by departments of the ethnicity of their staff. In the year to 1 April 2005 the response rate increased to 76.0 per cent compared to 73.7 per cent in the year to 1 April 2004.
Disability
On 1 April 2005 the proportion of staff with a disability was 4.5 per cent. This was an increase from 4.2 per cent a year earlier.
Table E shows permanent disabled staff by responsibility level. Staff with a declared disability continued to be more numerous in junior grades than at senior levels. On 1 April 2005, 4.8 per cent of staff in administrative grades and 4.8 per cent in the Executive Officer (EO) grade equivalents declared themselves as disabled.
- Table E: Permanent disabled staff by responsibility level; 2005 [MS XLS 17KB, 1 pages]
In spring 2005, 13.1 per cent of the economically active UK population had a disability according to the Labour Force Survey [External website]. Comparisons between the Civil Service and the wider population are not straightforward as the definition of disability needs to be taken into account. Differences in the methods of collecting information on disability give rise to considerable differences in the figures. Non-response is also an important factor (see paragraph on Diversity: Non-response).
Age
Table G shows the age distribution of the Civil Service workforce by responsibility level and gender. On 1 April 2005 the greatest concentration of staff continued to be in the middle age bands, with 56.8 per cent aged 30 to 49. In comparison, 15.6 per cent of staff were under 30 and 27.6 per cent of staff were 50 or over.
- Table G: Permanent staff by responsibility level, age and gender; 2005 [MS XLS 32KB, 1 pages]
Diversity: Non-response
Information on ethnic origin and disability is collected on voluntary, self classification questionnaires and there is considerable non-response. For example, in April 2005, the ethnic origin of 24.0 per cent of civil servants was unknown as was the disability status of 26.0 per cent of staff. However, efforts are being made to improve the response rate. Non-response particularly affects those moving between departments. Therefore, Civil Service Statistics on ethnic origin and disability should be interpreted with some caution, particularly year-on-year changes.