Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department's definition is of a non-frontline civil servant; and how the existing level of non-frontline civil servants compares to the pre-covid outbreak level of non-frontline civil servants in 2019-20.

This question was answered on 8th November 2021
The Department’s definition is consistent with the Civil Service Statistics publication. We define non-frontline to include, for example, policy, tax, project delivery, finance, HR, communications and analysis.

We think it is right that we continue to invest in frontline services growth, such as prison staff, which improves public service delivery. There has also been reasonable growth in policy and corporate staff in response to EU Exit and Covid pressures. However, as demand starts to abate, we must ensure resourcing does not exceed requirements to deliver value for money and make sure the Civil Service is in line with our overall approach to efficiency.

Departments publish their planned Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) figures in their Outcome Delivery Plans (ODPs). To support greater transparency for how public money is spent, departments also provide a breakdown of these FTEs by priority outcome or department. ODPs will be revised in Spring 2022 and include FTE figures for the SR21 settlement period.

Civil Service Statistics presents detailed information on the UK Civil Service workforce, including on pay, diversity and location. It is led by the Cabinet Office and will next report over the financial year concluding 31^st March 2022. Civil Service Statistics: 2022 will be available on the GOV.UK website in the Summer of 2022.