Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 3
3
There is still a long way to go to ensure the civil service retains and...
Conclusion
There is still a long way to go to ensure the civil service retains and promotes those from different backgrounds. The more diverse an organisation, the better decisions it makes. The civil service has made a commitment to be more diverse at all levels across both departments and functions. To achieve this the Cabinet Office says it has made its recruitment processes fairer. This includes changes to how and where jobs are advertised, and to how interviews and selections are conducted. Functions are also now setting clear standards in relation to recruitment in order to try and address inconsistencies in the process. The Cabinet Office believes these changes will help to ensure that people from different backgrounds are encouraged into the civil service. Alongside this, the Cabinet Office is aware of the need to improve the retention and progression of minority groups. Whilst we welcome the Cabinet Office’s commitment to diversifying the civil service, more needs to be done to improve the intake and retention of minority groups and those with different socio-economic backgrounds. Recommendation: The Cabinet Office should write to us within three months setting out detailed and broken-down information on the retention and progression of staff from different backgrounds and its plans for further reform in this area.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: March 2021 3.2 The Civil Service is a geographically diverse employer with 4 out of 5 civil servants being based outside of London, and distributed throughout the country, but the Government intends to go further. 3.3 The Cabinet Office will continue to publish statistics from the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES) on Gov.uk each year, providing detailed information on the composition of the Civil Service workforce, including data on diversity and entrants and leavers. In addition, the Cabinet Office will continue to publish results from the Civil Service People Survey by demographic groups. 3.4 On plans for further reform, the Cabinet Office is developing a new Civil Service Inclusion strategy to replace the 2017-2020 Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion strategy. The strategy is likely to focus on the themes of talent, fairness and inclusion and to set out a vision for a modern Civil Service where everyone can thrive no matter what their background or working style and where workplaces are safe, open and inclusive. It will reflect an evidence-led approach while also offering a broader view of diversity, including regional and cognitive diversity. Functions are also looking at how they directly support departments, with the Finance function planning to launch its Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing strategy at the end of February 2021 to promote a culture of inclusion and a message that finance is open to all. The strategy and support to departments will be underpinned by data, including rates of representation across a range of protected characteristics at all grades. 3.5 Government Business Services (GBS) will launch the Government Recruitment Information Database (GRID) which will act as a single dataset for all Civil Service Jobs recruitment data. The objective is to centralise data in line with central data standards and to promote ‘data-driven decision making’ to 18 improve recruitment diversity, accessible via a paid GRS service. This is achieved by bridging analysis and digital functional expertise, whereby analysis modelling is used to identify required action and digital systems instantly share this insight with civil servants, enabling them to proactively course-correct poor recruitment performance. The dataset will also be leveraged to inform workforce planning, for instance providing recommendations on which advertising to be used for best diversity based upon historical performance. The project roadmap is due to achieve business as usual delivery by April 2022.