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Select Committee · Public Accounts Committee

Civil service workforce: Recruitment, pay and performance management

Status: Closed Opened: 10 Jan 2024 Closed: 28 May 2024 7 recommendations 13 conclusions 1 report

The Committee has regularly raised issues of staff capacity, skills and workforce planning in the civil service in the past, and warned in December 2020 that the lack of specialist skills in the civil service affects both the efficiency and the effectiveness of government projects. The Government declared in 2022 that it would cut civil …

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Twenty-Third Report - Civil service workforce: Recruitment,… HC 452 22 Mar 2024 20 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

2 items
4 Conclusion Twenty-Third Report - Civil service wor… Acknowledged

Set out specific actions in pay and reward strategy to address longstanding civil service pay issues

Chronic pay issues within the civil service have lowered morale and risk departments not being able to recruit and retain skilled staff. The Cabinet Office acknowledges that there are longstanding issues within the civil service relating to pay and reward. These include a long-term decline in real-terms pay, which has …

Government response. The government states a civil service pay and reward strategy is under development, aiming to outline a coherent reward framework by 2030 and a revised pay framework. However, it provides little specific detail on the actions it will take to …
HM Treasury
14 Conclusion Twenty-Third Report - Civil service wor… Acknowledged

Departments possess delegated authority to set non-SCS staff pay, governed by central guidance.

As part of their employer responsibilities, departments are delegated the authority to set pay for their staff below SCS level. Each department sets its own pay structure which defines pay rates for each grade. Annual pay increases are governed by the central pay remit guidance issued by the Cabinet Office, …

Government response. The government acknowledges the observation and states that a new Civil Service Reward Strategy is under development to create a more coherent, flexible, and individualised reward framework by 2030, alongside a revised pay framework and improved pension offer clarity.
HM Treasury

Oral evidence sessions

1 session
Date Witnesses
5 Feb 2024 Esther Wallington · HM Revenue and Customs, Fiona Ryland · Cabinet Office, Mark Adam · Ministry of Justice, Sir Alex Chisholm · Cabinet Office View ↗

Correspondence

2 letters
DateDirectionTitle
26 Feb 2024 — Joint correspondence from Sir Alex Chisholm, Civil Service Chief Operating Offi…
26 Feb 2024 — Correspondence from Mark Adam, Chief People Officer, Ministry of Justice, re Ci…