Introduction
In August 2023, the TaxPayers’ Alliance produced a research paper examining the growth of the civil service between 2016 and 2023. [1] It found that the number of civil servants grew by over 100,000 during that period, and that expansion had been top-heavy, London-centric, and tilted away from operational delivery. This briefing note updates that analysis with 2024 data,[2] which shows that the trends we identified have continued in the year since it was published. Despite a now-reversed plan to reduce the size of the civil service by 60,000,[3] the data shows that between 2023 and 2024 the civil service grew by the largest amount in the past ten years, excluding pandemic related expansion in 2021 and 2022.
In addition to analysing broader trends in civil service employment and compensation, this note also compares the composition of civil service organisations, including the percentage of senior staff, back office and support roles such as communications, which the new chancellor specifically identified as an area where non-essential spending should be halted.[4]
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Key findings
- Between March 2023 and March 2024 civil service employment increased by 23,060, from 519,780 to 542,840 or 4.4 per cent. This is more than double the increase in the previous year, which was 9,700.
- Excluding the Covid-19 pandemic years of 2021 and 2022, this is the largest increase in the past ten years. In percentage terms it is more than double the average annual increase over this period (4.4 vs 2.17 per cent).
- All grades saw an increase in their median salary that was above the rate of inflation, which was 3.8 percent from 2023 to 2024.[5],[6]
- Civil servants with salaries over £100,000 increased by 42.5 per cent, from 2,045 to 2,915. The increase from 2023 to 2024 is larger than the increase in the past five years combined.
- While frontline operational delivery staff grew to comprise a larger percentage of civil service employees, 54.09 per cent in 2024 up from 52.41 per cent in 2023, this was still lower than in 2016 where the proportion was 56.4 per cent.[7]
- Some support and back office roles such as policy and communications saw significant increases between 2023 and 2024. Communications staff increased by 18 per cent, while there were 1,845 more policy staff, an increase of 6 per cent.
- The cost of civil service salaries in 2024 is estimated to be £19,684,987,800, an increase of 11 per cent from 2023, outpacing the nominal growth of the economy during that period.[8]
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[1] Denham, M., The civil service: a growing problem, TaxPayers’ Alliance, 9 August 2023, www.taxpayersalliance.com/the_civil_service_a_growing_problem, (accessed 1 August 2024).
[2] Cabinet Office, Civil Service statistics: 2024, 31 July 2024, www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2024, (accessed 6 August 2024).
[3] Riley-Smith, B., Labour drops Tory plans to cut Civil Service numbers, The Telegraph, 4 August 2024.
[4] Reeves, R., Chancellor statement on public spending inheritance, HM Treasury, 27 July 2024, www.gov.uk/government/speeches/chancellor-statement-on-public-spending-inheritance, (accessed 2 August 2024).
[5] Office for National Statistics, Consumer price inflation, UK: March 2024, 17 April 2024, www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/consumerpriceinflation/march2024, (accessed 1 August 2024).
[6] See table 2.
[7] Denham, M., The civil service: a growing problem, TaxPayers’ Alliance, 9 August 2023, www.taxpayersalliance.com/the_civil_service_a_growing_problem, (accessed 1 August 2024).
[8] Office for Budget Responsibility, Economic and fiscal outlook, March 2024, p.148.