Transparency data

Government evidence to the Senior Salaries Review Body on the pay of the Senior Civil Service (December 2024) (HTML)

Updated 10 December 2024

Executive Summary

Introduction

1. This Government has a clear ambition for a new approach on mission-driven government. Mission-driven government means raising our sights as a nation and focusing on ambitious, measurable, long-term objectives that provide a driving sense of purpose for the country. It means a new way of doing government that is more joined up, pushes power out to communities and harnesses new technology, all with one aim in mind – to put the country back in the service of working people.

2. In this context, the Government places the highest value on the leadership role that senior civil servants play to drive forward mission-led government and its ambitions on public sector reform The Senior Civil Service (SCS) is a firmly established and effective cadre of civil servants and the Government believes it’s critical that the SCS is equipped to efficiently deliver its role at collective and individual level. We want a Civil Service that is able to bring the best talent in and retain the expertise and specialists at SCS level. The work to develop a new SCS Strategy is at the heart of this.

3. The Government invites the SSRB to comment on the proposals contained in its evidence to ensure the SCS reward system supports the development of a senior leadership cadre for the Civil Service that is able to meet the challenges of the future, with particular regard for this government’s objective of providing mission-led public services.

4. The Government’s evidence is provided in two parts. The first part is the main evidence in narrative form and sets out:

• Chapter 1 – 2024 SSRB recommendations for the SCS
• Chapter 2 – SCS vision, priorities and direction of travel
• Chapter 3 –  Wider context for the SCS and Civil Service

5. The following information is annexed to the main evidence:

• Annex A – an evaluation of the 2024/2025 pay award and its application by main Departments
• Annex B - SCS pay on appointment exceptions
• Annex C - Pensions
• Annex D - Permanent Secretary Remuneration
• Annex E - Government Commercial Organisation (GCO)
• Annex F - SCS data
• Annex G - SCS data

6. SCS pay awards for 2024 are in the process of being implemented in some departments, so this evidence does not currently include data figures related to SCS pay for 2024. Pay data is provided up to 1 April 2023. Provisional workforce figures for the SCS in Quarter 1 2024 are provided from the Cabinet Office SCS database, but are not yet finalised and will need to be updated when SCS pay awards are finalised and the central collections are complete.

7. We will ensure the SSRB has the finalised data when it is available to support the development of your Report, and will provide provisional data in advance of oral evidence. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is determined to provide more timely pay awards for the public sector and that this brings forward the timetable for all Pay Review Bodies affected. Cabinet Office officials will work closely with the SSRB secretariat to manage any impact and to provide any additional information required.

8. The second part is the supporting statistical data requested by the SSRB. In addition, the SSRB will receive separate economic evidence from HM Treasury.

Economic Context

Macroeconomic context

9. The rate of UK economic growth since the global financial crisis (GFC) of 2008 has been substantially lower than in previous decades. Annual real productivity growth (GDP per hour worked) fell by around 1.5 percentage points, from an average of 2.1% in the decade prior to the GFC, to 0.6% between 2010 and 2019. Higher productivity enables higher wages and living standards. Only sustained productivity growth over the medium-term can deliver sustainable long-run economic growth and real-terms wage rises.

10. The Government is fixing the foundations of the economy and beginning a decade of national renewal. Through the growth mission, the government is restoring stability, increasing investment, and reforming the economy to drive up prosperity and living standards across the UK.

11. The UK economy has faced unprecedented shocks, including the pandemic and Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, which contributed to the largest increase in inflation in almost 50 years. Low and stable price inflation is an essential element of a stable macroeconomic environment, and a pre-requisite for sustainable economic growth and improving living standards. Inflation is normalising after these shocks and is expected to remain close to the 2% target throughout the OBR’s forecast period, and average 2.6% across 2025/26.

12. The UK economy is exposed to risks from geopolitical tensions, shifts in global trade, global spillovers from declining demand in China, and any sudden increases in financial market volatility which could tighten financial conditions. Overall, risks are elevated and skewed to the downside.

Labour market context

13. Settlement data are the most comparable data to PRB decisions, as they are a direct measure of consolidated pay awards, and are not directly affected by other factors such as changes to working hours or changes in the composition of employment. According to Brightmine, median settlements across the economy were at 4.8% in 2024 Q2 and 4.0% in 2024 Q3. The OBR’s forecast is for average earnings growth to average 4.5% across 2024/25 –  this measure of average earnings growth has historically been higher than average pay settlements, as it is affected by compositional changes in the labour force and factors such as changes to working hours. Against both of these, the 2024/25 award for the SCS ahead of the wider economy, which should support an improvement in recruitment and retention.

14. Average earnings growth is forecast to moderate further over the coming months, with the OBR expecting earnings growth to fall to 3% in 2025/26. Survey evidence also points to an easing in wage growth, with Brightmine’s survey showing that settlements are expected to average 3% in 2025. The Government has brought forward the pay round this year, which makes it particularly important that PRBs consider forecasts for wage growth.

15. While the unemployment rate is low by historical standards, there is substantial uncertainty around the position of the labour market due to ongoing issues with the Labour Force Survey. Other sources suggest that the labour market continues to loosen, with vacancy levels falling, and employee numbers falling in recent months. A loosening labour market should continue to support recruitment and retention across the public sector.

Affordability of pay award to the SCS

16. As outlined above, average earnings growth is forecast to moderate further over the coming months,with the OBR expecting earnings growth to fall to 3% in 2025/26. The Government has also brought forward the pay round this year, which makes it particularly important that pay review bodies consider forecasts for wage growth. The Government has considered these factors whilst carefully evaluating the overall affordability position and recommends that awards for the SCS should be no higher than 2.8%.

17. HM Treasury has been clear that there will be no additional funding to departments for 2025/26 pay awards. The Cabinet Office will need to carefully consider the justification for any recommendation higher than 2.8%, and whether departments can make countervailing measures to meet the cost.

SCS vision and strategy

18. The SSRB has for many years identified the need for a strategic vision for the future size and shape of the SCS - a strategy to achieve this vision and an approach to pay and reward that supports the SCS in the immediate future and the longer term. The Government agrees a strategy is long overdue. It has been clear in the SSRB’s recent Reports and the Government agrees this is more critical than ever before to set the role the SCS need to play in supporting the shift to mission-led government. Significant progress has been made already and work to develop an SCS Strategy is on track to complete in early 2025. We have engaged SSRB directly this year to seek input and will continue to do so. We are grateful for the important contributions SSRB members have made so far and are very interested in any further views.

19. Setting a bold ambition for the future SCS, the strategy will seek to improve the way in which our senior leaders deliver within the context of mission-led government, and establish the right approach to realise much needed reform of the SCS.

20. The SCS Strategy connects to wider public sector reform ambitions of how to unlock greater UK-wide career opportunities and attract, develop and retain the very best people from the widest pool of talent, with particular consideration for the new and emerging specialist and technical capabilities that are, and will be, needed of senior leaders.

21. The SCS Strategy will be supplemented by an action plan, to be developed collaboratively across the Civil Service, which will set out how the strategy will be implemented.

22. Alongside this is commitment to the development of a new Civil Service Reward Strategy that will align and integrate with the SCS Strategy. This is also supported by wider activity ongoing within the Government People Group around capabilities, skills, performance, recruitment, and workforce planning. The Reward Strategy will set the vision, goals and action plan to address reward issues within the Civil Service for both the delegated pay structure and at the SCS level. The aim is to achieve a more coherent, flexible, and individualised reward framework by 2030.

23. We will provide further detail at oral evidence on both the SCS Strategy and Reward Strategies, and will continue to engage with members during its development. The Government would like the SSRB to comment on the current direction for a future SCS Strategy.

SCS pay priorities and direction of travel

24. In recent years, the SSRB has recommended a general consolidated pay uplift applied to all members of the SCS (unless they are underperforming) as a significant part of the pay award. In the current economic context, we agree that this remains an important element of the SCS pay award.

25. We note that last year the SSRB’s position was to prioritise general pay uplifts - with a single main recommendation on across the board pay increases. We believe that for 2025/26 there is again an opportunity to apply the pay award in a way that provides a meaningful general uplift for all eligible SCS that continues to achieve a consistent approach to the cadre, while also addressing some of the most pressing issues within the SCS reward framework through targeting more serious pay anomalies.

26. We are therefore recommending a similar approach to recent years (with the exception of the Public Sector pay pause year in 2020/21), whereby the SCS pay award for 2025/26 should be targeted as follows:

• Priority 1: to increase the pay band minima for all pay bands.
• Priority 2: to allocate a consolidated basic pay increase to all SCS.
• Priority 3: for departments to allocate additional consolidated increases to individuals to address specific, more serious structural pay anomalies in their workforces.

27. For this year, the Government’s position is that an award should be targeted to address these priorities, whilst set in the context of the Government’s wider affordability position.

Pay ranges

Minima

28. The Government shares the SSRB’s concerns presented in previous years that there remain issues arising in a number of departments with overlap between SCS and those in the delegated departmental pay structure. We would underline that some progress has been made over the years to continually apply increases to the pay band minima. As in previous years, feedback from members of the SCS suggests that the relatively small increase in salary when joining the SCS, coupled with the perceived large increase in responsibility and working hours, is risking the attractiveness of promotion into the SCS.

29. For this year, we ask the SSRB to consider further increases to the SCS minima, particularly at SCS1. The Government’s position is that any increases should be proportionate when considering affordability. We would welcome further discussion with the SSRB on the pay band minima at oral evidence, as well as SSRB’s assessment of the current issues at the bottom of the pay ranges, such as leapfrogging.

Permanent Secretaries

30. From time to time, the SSRB has made recommendations and commented on Permanent Secretary remuneration. The Permanent Secretary Remuneration Committee (PSRC) has noted that applying this year’s pay award meant that seven Permanent Secretaries’ salaries would exceed the pay band maximum if fully consolidated.

31. As such, some or all of the award for the seven was paid as a non-consolidated, non-pensionable lump sum, with salaries capped at £200,000. The PSRC has noted that future pay awards are likely to create further pressures within pay range, notably at the pay band maximum, which has not changed since 2010. As such, we would welcome the SSRB’s views on the Permanent Secretary pay range. Any specific recommendations will additionally be considered by the PSRC.

Performance management

32. The Government is committed to ensuring that the performance management system drives the delivery of mission-based government. For several years, an evolutionary approach has been taken on changes of the SCS performance management framework and the Government believes that a more radical review of the approach on performance management and how it operated is merited. This is being explored as part of the SCS Strategy. We are clear that an effective performance system rewarding the best performers and tackling poor performance is key to an approach that drives mission-led government.

Chapter 1 – SSRB’s 2024 Recommendations for the SCS

Recommendation 1

As a pay award for the Senior Civil Service we recommend:

• all members of the Senior Civil Service should receive a 5.0 per cent consolidated pay increase from 1 April 2024.

Recommendation 2:

We recommend that the SCS pay band minima should increase by £1,000 each, from 1 April 2024.

• SCS pay band 1: £76,000 to £117,800.
• SCS pay band 2: £98,000 to £162,500.
• SCS pay band 3: £128,000 to £208,100.

33. In making their pay recommendations, the SSRB stated it was mindful of a number of factors:

• the proportion of applicants who meet the minimum standard to be appointable is low, linked to an unattractive reward package.
• high levels of churn;
• the growing pay gap with the external market, and lack of attraction to apply, leaving the Civil Service reliant on internal talent; and
• the urgent need for effective strategy to address the shortcomings in the SCS structure.

34. The Government accepted the SSRB’s recommendations for 2024 in full. In reaching this decision, the Government carefully considered the need to maintain an effective SCS, affordability and fairness between senior pay and the delegated pay award.

35. In accepting the recommendations, and in recognition of the SSRB’s concerns about the lack of consistency in the application of consolidated pay increases by departments in recent years, the Cabinet Office, consistent with its approach last year, was explicit in how the award was implemented across the SCS. This was to ensure consistency in the application of the award, and departments were informed of the criticality of following the advice and recommendations of the SSRB in the 2024 SCS Pay Practitioners Guidance. The Practitioners Guidance specified that:

• Departments must give all eligible members of the SCS a consolidated pay increase of 5% of their base pay from 1 April 2024; and
• the SCS pay band minima should increase by £1,000 each, with increases to be made before the 5% uplifts.

36. In accepting the SSRB’s recommendations in full, the Cabinet Office did not put provisions for an anomalies pot in its guidance. Through feedback from departments, some concerns were raised on the impact of rewarding and retaining high performers lower in the pay ranges, along with addressing equality issues in their SCS pay structures.

37. Where departments proposed to depart from this approach, they were required to seek Cabinet Office approval first. Special dispensation was again agreed for FCDO in 2024/25 to reflect their unique workforce needs, including the continuing need to address harmonisation issues resulting from the merger of former FCO and DFID.

38. The application of the 2024/25 SCS pay award by main departments is at Annex A.

Chapter 2 – SCS Vision, Pay Priorities and Direction of Travel

SCS vision and strategy

39. The Government recognises that the SSRB has consistently identified the need for a strategic vision for the future size and shape of the SCS, a strategy to achieve this vision, and an approach to pay and reward that supports the SCS in the immediate future and the longer term. The SSRB made clear in its 2024 Report that the absence of a clear strategic vision for the purpose, size, and composition of the SCS continues to be a shortcoming in the remuneration and leadership of the SCS.

40. As outlined in last year’s Report, and discussed further with the SSRB, work is now underway to develop a SCS Strategy, which is on track to complete in early 2025. Through setting a bold ambition for the future SCS cadre, the strategy will seek to improve the way in which our senior leaders deliver within the context of mission-led government, thereby being a key way to realise meaningful public sector reform.

41. The Strategy will include a future vision and a refreshed definition of the fundamental purpose for the cadre within the Civil Service. It will describe how the SCS will be set up to deliver for success, which will include consideration of the new and emerging skills and capabilities required, the types of roles needed including how these support delivery within mission-led government, and the reward offering to both attract and retain diverse senior leadership talent. The strategy will review the implications of this design on the size and structure of the cadre. Additionally, the strategy will review the workforce levers to optimise SCS recruitment, talent and performance.

42. The SCS Strategy connects into wider public sector reform ambitions of how to unlock greater UK-wide career opportunities and attract, develop and retain the very best people from the widest pool of talent, with particular consideration for the new and emerging specialist and technical capabilities that are, and will be, needed of senior leaders.

43. The SCS Strategy will be supplemented by an action plan, to be developed collaboratively across the Civil Service, which will set out how the SCS Strategy will be implemented.

44. The SCS Strategy is a commitment in the January 2024 Civil Service People Plan for 2024-2027.

45. We have been grateful for engagement with the SSRB this year whilst the SCS Strategy has been in progress. At this stage of ongoing development, we are able to provide further oral evidence to the SSRB for any further detail required on the SCS Strategy and will continue engaging with members on this important work.

Pay Priorities

46. Our ambition is for a future SCS Pay Framework. This is to develop a clear leadership and pay framework for the SCS that rewards delivery of better outcomes and that raises the overall capability of the SCS so that it can lead the Civil Service across the Government’s priorities. This will continue to be developed alongside a future SCS strategy.

47. In past years, the SSRB has recommended a general pay uplift applied to all members of the SCS (unless they are underperforming) as a significant part of the pay award. In the current economic context, we agree that this is an important element of the SCS pay award.

48. In accepting the SSRB’s 2024 recommendations in full, the Cabinet Office did not put provisions for an anomalies pot in its practitioner guidance. Through feedback from departments, concerns have been raised on the impact of rewarding and retaining high performers lower in the pay ranges, along with addressing equality issues in their SCS pay structures.

49. We note that last year the SSRB’s position was to prioritise general pay uplifts - with a single main recommendation on across the board pay increases. We believe that for 2025/26 there is again an opportunity to apply the pay award in a way that provides a meaningful general uplift for all eligible SCS that continues to achieve a consistent approach to the cadre. Alongside any general uplifts, the Government also believes that enabling further additional consolidated increases through pay anomalies should be a priority in addressing structural issues lower in the pay ranges within departments. This follows strong representations from departments on this priority.

50. We are therefore recommending a similar approach to recent years (with the exception of the Public Sector pay pause year in 2020/21), whereby the SCS pay award for 2025/26 should be targeted as follows:

• Priority 1: to increase the pay band minima for pay bands 1 - 3, whilst holding the maxima at their current levels.
• Priority 2: to allocate a consolidated basic pay increase to all SCS.
• Priority 3: for departments to allocate additional consolidated increases to individuals to address specific, more serious structural pay anomalies in their workforces.

51. For this year, the Government’s position is that an award should be targeted to address these priorities, whilst set in the context of the Government’s wider affordability position.

52. We recognise and accept the SSRB’s ongoing concerns regarding the lack of implementation of a simple pay progression approach for the SCS, following the pausing of a model for capability-based pay progression in recent years. Addressing the issue of pay progression is an area of key focus for the wider Reward Strategy and early analysis has highlighted pay progression and segmentation as the priority areas of work, this will include consideration of linking progression to areas such as performance or skills, acknowledged gaps in the current reward framework. The Government People Group continues to explore mechanisms that incentivise increases in skills and capability in order to support key delivery for the Government. Cabinet Office are exploring this as part of the overall strategy for the SCS, where it remains the Government’s ambition for a smaller, higher-skilled, productive, and better-rewarded SCS. We would welcome the SSRB’s input to the design of such an approach.

Pay ranges

Minima

53. A lot of progress has been made to increase pay band minima over time, particularly at SCS1 level, yet there still remain issues arising in a number of departments with unwanted crossover between pay ranges.

54. It remains the Government’s intention to continue to rationalise the current SCS pay ranges by increasing the minima for all SCS grades, while recognising that a balance needs to be struck between funding increases to the minimum and targeting funding towards those low in the pay range who increase their capability.

55. The Government also recognises that recent pay awards at the delegated pay structure, which have been higher than previous years, may create further issues at the SCS1 minimum. We also recognise that the general uplifts for the SCS in recent years have supported further movement for SCS previously at the pay band minima, however the current minima, particularly at SCS1, may continue to present a lack of incentive for promotion, and potential leapfrogging.

56. It remains the Government’s intention to continue to rationalise the current SCS pay ranges by increasing the minima for all SCS grades, while recognising that a balance needs to be struck between funding increases to the minima and targeting funding towards those low in the pay range who increase their capability and deepened expertise.

57. For this year, we ask the SSRB to consider further increases to the SCS minima, particularly at SCS1. The Government’s position is that any increases should be proportionate when considering affordability. We would welcome further discussion with the SSRB on the pay band minima at oral evidence.

SCS pay band minima 2009-2024

Year	Deputy Director	Director	Director General
2009 - 2012	£58,200	£82,900	£101,500
2013	£60,000	£84,000	£103,000
2014	£62,000	£85,000	£104,000
2015	£63,000	£86,000	£105,000
2016	£64,000	£87,000	£106,000
2017	£65,000	£88,000	£107,000
2018	£68,000	£90,500	£111,500
2019	£70,000	£92,000	£115,000
2020	£71,000	£93,000	£120,000
2021*	£71,000	£93,000	£120,000
2022	£73,000	£95,000	£125,000
2023	£75,000	£97,000	£127,000
2024	£76,000	£98,000	£128,000

*2021 denotes the public sector pay pause

Maxima

58. In 2017 the Government first stated the intent to reduce the SCS maxima:

• to facilitate quicker progress on shortening the pay ranges to both increase engagement and reduce inequities associated with maintaining a long pay range, which cannot be solely addressed through minima raises; as well as
• in preparation for the introduction of capability-based pay progression and movement through the (ideally shorter) pay ranges.

59. Since 2017, the implementation of the reduction of the maxima has been postponed. As with last year, we believe that any changes should be considered as part of the overall SCS strategy and future pay framework. It is important to note that whilst the maxima have not decreased, the overall pay bands have shortened significantly since 2017. We therefore do not propose to decrease the maxima for 2025/26.

60. The following pay range maxima are advised for this pay year:

Category	Deputy Director	Director	Director General
Maximum	£117,800	£162,500	£208,100

Permanent Secretaries

61. From time to time, the SSRB has made recommendations and commented on Permanent Secretary remuneration. A robust framework applies to Permanent Secretary pay; roles are assigned to one of three pay tiers, within the overall range (pay band), based on size and complexity. Specialists who receive market premium pay for their roles (e.g. the Cabinet Secretary and Chief Medical Officer) sit outside of the tiers.

62. For 2024/25, the Government took the decision to accept the SSRB’s recommendation of a 5% consolidated increase for all eligible members of the SCS. The Permanent Secretary Remuneration Committee (PSRC) agreed to mirror this for eligible Permanent Secretaries. They also agreed to increase the pay band minimum by £1,000 in line with other SCS grades. As such, the Permanent Secretary tiers (within the band range) with effect from 1 April 2024 are:

• Tier 1 - £185,000 - £200,000
• Tier 2 - £170,000 - £185,000
• Tier 3 - £153,000 - £170,000

63. PSRC also noted that applying this year’s pay award meant that seven Permanent Secretaries’ salaries would exceed the pay band maximum if fully consolidated. As such, some or all of the award for the seven was paid as a non-consolidated, non-pensionable lump sum, with their salaries capped at £200,000. Table 1 sets out, in £5,000 bands, the salaries of Permanent Secretaries within the tiers (as at 1 April 2024). The top band (£195,000 - £200,000) includes the seven Permanent Secretaries impacted by the current pay band maximum.

Table 1: Permanent Secretary salaries by tier, in £5,000 bands

Salary bands (£000) based on salaries at 01.04.24	Number of Permanent Secretaries in the Salary Band
195 - 200	9
190 - 195	4
185 - 190	3
180 - 185	8
175 - 180	3
170 - 175	2
165 - 170	1
160 - 165	7

64. There have been minimal changes to the tiers over the years: in April 2017 when the pay band (and pay Tier 3) minimum was increased from £142,000 to £150,000 to align with Treasury senior pay control limits; in April 2018 when PSRC increased the Tier 2 minimum from £160,000 to £162,500; and, more recently, in September 2023 and July 2024, when PSRC increased the pay band minimum (to £152,000 then £153,000) to reflect the Senior Salaries Review Body’s proposals to increase the minima of all SCS pay bands. There has been no change to the pay band maximum since 2010 resulting in the accumulation of a number of longer standing Permanent Secretaries at or near the top of the pay band.

65. The PSRC has noted that future pay awards are likely to create further pressures within the pay range, notably at the pay band maximum, given there has been no change to it since 2010. As such, we would welcome the SSRB’s views on the current Permanent Secretary pay range. Any specific recommendations will additionally be considered by the PSRC.

66. Further information on Permanent Secretary remuneration, including performance ratings, can be found in Annex D.

Non-consolidated pay

Performance-related pay

67. We indicated in last year’s evidence that we had resumed a review of non-consolidated performance related payments for the SCS, following a pause due to overall resourcing pressures and competing priorities. We are now in the scoping stages to consider and assess all the evidence that has been collated. From this we will draft a series of proposals to consider which we envisage considering changes to the size and shape of the non-consolidated pot, as well as the distribution of awards between in-year and end-year. All the proposals will be aligned to the SCS strategy to ensure consistency of approach. Our initial research has found:

• varying degrees of agreement that the current non-consolidated performance related pot (NCPRP) process achieves its purpose, due to an under-utilisation of in-year award and some belief that the size of awards is not sufficient to genuinely incentivise high performance;
• a broad agreement that SCS strive to achieve the top-box marking, but less certainty that this is driven by the incentive of receiving a bonus payment and whether the payment is sufficient to reward the contribution;
• significant variance between departments in the distribution of the NCPRP pot between in-year and end-year awards, and in some instances within departments but between years;  and
• that generally, departments value the flexibility to award staff as they see fit, however dislike the lack of consistency and conversely the centrally set requirements such as requiring an end-year award to be paid and capping the amount individuals can receive. There is also significant variance in the extent to which Departments believe the non-con pot is large enough to achieve the aims of NCPRP.

68. The current non-consolidated pay pot for SCS is 3.3% of the overall SCS pay bill. The pot is used to fund end-of-year awards and in-year awards. Following the removal of forced distribution, there is no cap on the number of staff eligible for an end of year award. All staff are eligible for in-year awards, up to £5,000, to recognise high performance in the moment provided they are not on formal poor performance measures.

69. SCS who receive an ‘Exceeding’ box marking must receive an end of year award, and we have now stipulated that departments must also award High Performing’ (they previously had flexibility to choose whether to reward High Performing). Departments currently have discretion to differentiate the level of payment they award each box marking to acknowledge different levels of contribution.

70. The SSRB is asked for their views on what the priorities for the review of non-consolidated performance related pay should be?

Pivotal role allowances

71. Pivotal Role Allowances (PRAs) have been in place since 2013 to help retain SCS delivering critical programmes and those responsible for implementing the Government’s priorities. They are widely recognised as a helpful tactical solution to address flight risk, pending longer term reform of the SCS pay system.

72. Since their introduction, around 365 PRAs have been agreed for people responsible for delivering the Government’s priorities, including: EU exit priorities, COVID-19 response, major transport infrastructure projects and sustainable energy programmes, key health and safety specialists, those protecting the borders and national security, those providing digital services to the public and across government, and those in highly technical defence roles.

73. PRAs are removable and non-pensionable and controlled within a notional central pot set at 0.5% of the overall SCS pay bill. Around 105 PRAs are currently in payment. 56 PRA were agreed in 2023/24, compared to 48 PRAs agreed in 2022/23. From April 2024 to the end of October 2024, a further 28 PRAs have been agreed. PRAs generally range from £10,000 - £15,000 per annum in value and are paid to retain people for up to three years. The PRAs currently in payment are spread across a wide range of professions, but are being used mainly by Digital, Data and Technology (31%), Finance (28%), Policy (17%) and Project Delivery (11%).

74. In addition, separate bespoke PRA arrangements have previously been agreed for the Infrastructure and Projects Authority to support the recruitment and retention of Senior Responsible Owners responsible for delivering projects in the Government Major Projects Portfolio and the Digital profession to support the recruitment and retention of highly skilled SCS1/2 Digital, Data and Technology specialists.

Performance management

The current framework

75. The current SCS performance management framework is set centrally by the Cabinet Office. The framework sets out the minimum expected process which departments must follow, but departments are able to build upon in order to meet their own local workforce needs. For the 2024/25 performance year, we did not introduce any significant policy changes to the framework.

76. Ahead of the more radical review of the approach to performance management, which will be explored as part of the SCS Strategy, but in light of the fact that departments have now had some time to embed the Framework, we have undertaken a short review of the consistency of its implementation. In summary, we found:

• Business objectives are generally set well and enable alignment of assessment of SCS delivery of mission-led Government. However, the mandatory objectives (finance, people including D&I, and corporate leadership) were very vague and added little value, despite departments often setting additional guidance.
• Performance outcomes and distributions varied significantly between departments. Most departments had implemented the guide of 5% receiving the lowest rating (‘Partially met’), but there were great differences in how the other boxes were understood and used by departments.
• It is not clear that changes to the framework attempting to better identify poor performance by stipulating that those who achieved a partially met rating for two consecutive quarters should move onto a performance development plan has been successful.

77. As a result, we will make the following amendments for the 2025/26 performance year, with the aim of increasing the consistency of expectation and outcome across the cadre, as well as considering opportunities to utilise the performance management system to drive mission-led Government, within the current system.

Minimum Standards

78. We will introduce a set of minimum standards, which all members of the SCS are expected to meet, and which combine and replace the current system of each individual setting their own finance, people and capability, D&I and corporate leadership objectives. The latter of these, in particular, provides a direct link between mission-led Government and performance assessment for the SCS.

79. These have been designed to set out the basic performance expectations which, bar delivery of organisational objectives, will need to be met for a member of the SCS to be deemed as performing adequately in their role. As a result, delivery against these will not be rated against the four boxes, but simply marked as ‘met’ or ‘not met’, with those receiving a ‘not met’ marking being automatically deemed to be ‘partially met’ in their overall performance.

80. The minimum standards are drafted in a way which aims to balance the need for a consistent standard across the single SCS cadre, but also be sufficiently high level so that they can be adapted for a variety of different role types, and each of the SCS1-3 grades. As a result, in practice, the standards will need to be discussed at the start of the performance year between individuals and their line managers to ensure both parties understand how they are relevant to their role. This will also allow them to agree how they will determine whether they have ‘met’ these minimum standards at the end of the performance year.

Expected Distribution

81. As the SCS is a centrally managed cadre, there is strong rationale for greater consistency in the outcomes of the performance management process. Whilst we continue to strongly advocate against the reintroduction of forced distribution, there is merit in setting an expected distribution which departments should roughly achieve if their performance management processes were working effectively and in a way which is aligned with other departments. Departments have also requested further guidance on the expected shape of their performance distribution, as they are keen to ensure alignment.

82. We are setting an expectation which broadly aligns with existing practice and recognises the importance of NCPRP as part of the total reward package for the SCS:

• Exceeded - 15%
• High Performing - 20%
• Achieved - 60%
• Partially Met - 5%

83. In practice, this expected distribution should only be reviewed during consistency checking meetings which happen at local and departmental level once individual conversations between members of the SCS and their line manager have concluded. It should be used to challenge decision making and ensure consistent standards of assessment are being applied across the SCS, and to make alterations to the process for the coming year if the distribution is not in line with expectations without good reason. It should not be used to force managers to amend markings to meet the set distribution (as was the case when forced distribution was in place).

84. The performance management guidance will also stipulate that expected distribution should not be assessed where fewer than 150 individuals^{[footnote 1]} are in scope of the consideration, and that departments should seek to work together where necessary in order to achieve this threshold.

Formalised reporting on poor performance

85. We are clear that the effective and timely identification and management of poor performance, particularly amongst the SCS, is crucial to driving mission-led government, yet there remains an issue with poor performance being consistently identified across the Civil Service. Nevertheless, we recognise that previous attempts to increase the monitoring of poor performance has not been successful in raising performance, but only added additional bureaucracy to the performance process. As such, we are shifting the focus from placing additional surveillance requirements on line managers, to departmental reporting.

86. We will update the guidance to require departments to report more formally and regularly on the number and percentage of their SCS which are formally poor performing, internally, to each other and to the Cabinet Office:

• Government People Group will formalise an annual data commission to identify the number of poor performers in each department.
• We will also update the framework to require Permanent Secretaries, DGs and Heads of Profession to discuss the departments approach to poor performance in the existing end-year consistency check and the start-year expectation setting meeting.
• Departmental HR Directors will then be required to present this information at the GPG facilitated cross-government consistency check, and discuss whether standards to support the identification and management of poor performance are being consistently applied.

Setting clear expectations for ‘how’ members of the SCS deliver their objectives

87. Within the existing framework, we will provide clearer expectations for ‘how’ the SCS should deliver their work, to ensure that these expectations better align with government priorities for the management of the Civil Service, and mission-led Government. This should ensure that members of the SCS are better incentivised to work in a way which compliments the emerging Government priorities in this area.

Director General Remuneration Committee (DGRC)

88. The Director General Pay Committee (DGPC) was established in 2019. The DGPC was a sub-committee of the Senior Leadership Committee (SLC). The DGPC was established to discuss Director General (DG) pay policy and strategy across the Civil Service, identifying principles based on Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) recommendations, and ensuring consistency in the application of policy across departments by maintaining a strategic oversight. The committee would regularly provide updates to the SLC.

89. The DGPC was responsible for:

a. Creation of strategic recommendations to the SSRB for the future direction of DG reward priorities

b. Ensuring a desired level of consistency of application of DG pay policy across departments, including exit arrangements

c. Approving changes to DG pay policy

d. Making decisions on issues that fall outside the agreed pay framework, including pay exceptions cases

e. Providing challenge on departmental application of pay policy

90. In 2022, it was decided by the committee members to change from a pay committee to a remuneration committee. The decision was based on evidence collated from the committee through an annual data collection which demonstrated that DG pay required a more strategic approach.

91. The new Director General Remuneration Committee (DGRC) was created in 2023 and has the same membership of DGPC, with the addition of a HMT representative and two Non-Executive Directors.

92. The remit of the DGRC is to:

• determine and implement a coherent Reward Strategy for the DG group:
• provide an annual independent assessment of the DG pay landscape and make recommendations to SSRB and Departments to ensure the delivery of the Reward Strategy;
• provide oversight of individual remuneration, including the need for pay exceptions, to ensure alignment with principles of reward and future Reward Strategy.

93. The DGRC executives two principal functions;

• setting principles and approach to DG remuneration, including being the sponsor of a robust and reliable internal and market-facing dataset.
• taking decisions on individual pay and exit cases by actively using an agreed set of principles and consideration of internal and market data.

94. The DGRC aims to meet on a quarterly basis, to coincide with the reporting cycle of the SSRB, with the aim to provide evidence to SSRB on DG cadre.

The Devolved Governments

95. The SCS in Scotland and Wales continue to be part of the centrally managed cadre which is governed by the UK, which differs from the delegated grade structure, which is managed by their own respective government.

96. For both governments, over time, the position in regards to the SCS has shifted in recognition of the changing shape of devolution. For example, the sign off for new senior appointments moved from the Prime Minister to the First Minister of the respective government, and there has been a delegation of certain decisions regarding the Civil Service Compensation Scheme. While these changes in responsibilities did not require amendment of the Civil Service Management Code, they do acknowledge the different position of devolved governments when compared to UK Government departments.

97. Financial accountability to the Scottish Parliament and Senedd and increasing fiscal autonomy, such as the Scottish and Welsh Rates of Income Tax, also factor as part of the developing context. One feature of the evolving devolution context is that Scottish Ministers now have an established and distinctive Public Sector Pay Policy. As this has diverged from the UK Government’s policy choices, the position for the reserved SCS in the Scottish Government has become increasingly complex to navigate. This is also increasingly an issue for SCS in the Welsh Government as Welsh Ministers move towards greater co-ordination on pay across the Welsh public sector.

98. Both governments operate remuneration committees (similar to those in UK Government departments). The Welsh Government’s People and Remuneration Committee is responsible for recommending senior pay decisions and managing the performance, potential and talent of senior staff. The Committee ensures remuneration is handled in a fair and appropriate way and in line with UK Government guidance.

Issues affecting the Devolved Governments

99. For a number of years an overview of the issues affecting senior reward arrangements for the Devolved Governments has been included in the Government’s evidence to the SSRB. Some of these are also experienced by UK Government departments, such as the loss of senior staff to the wider public sector where pay levels are higher or access to pay progression exists, and the ‘leapfrogging’ and overlap issues at the low end of the SCS1 range. However, some are particular to the Devolved Governments, including the ministerial decision on the non-payment of performance awards.

100. The issue of leapfrogging is also exacerbated in the Devolved Governments by the practice of pay progression at those in the delegated pay structure leading to many of the Grade 6 and 7 cadre sitting at the top of the pay band while the members of the SCS stay clustered towards the bottom of the pay band. Higher pay awards to delegated grades and the use of pay supplements in specialist roles further highlights the challenge of maintaining differentials for SCS.

101. The governments in Scotland and Wales have also expressed concerns over the lack of provisions for an anomalies pot in the 24-25 pay round. While the anomalies pot has not solved the issues outlined above, it has allowed both governments to mitigate them to a certain extent.

102. The UK Government continues to endorse the model of a UK-wide SCS. The SCS strategy will look to review the current UK-wide SCS approach. We will involve both governments as this work progresses.

Senior Civil Servant Model Contract Review

103. The SCS is a centrally managed cadre with a standard model contract for those employed permanently and on a fixed term basis.

104. As well as setting out the terms and conditions of employment, the SCS contract is an important tool in articulating and clarifying expectations from the start of individuals’ SCS career.

105. The SCS model contract was last updated in 2018 to reflect GDPR changes and although there have been a number of minor reviews since then focusing on compliance with other legislative obligations, there has not been a full review of the document since 2010.

106. In 2010 a review of the contract resulted in the removal of the SCS probationary period as an attempt to align with practice in the private sector and under the expectation that SCS will be rigorously performance managed.

107. Given the amount of time since the contract was last properly considered, we have carried out a review to ensure it is still fit for purpose. Based on the evidence gathered there are a number of amendments we can make to the model contract in the short term. These will aim to address the areas raised about clarity and transparency to the contract and:

• revise the language to use more modern terms and references;
• update sections that makes reference to information or guidance that are no longer relevant or in use;
• rewrite sections of the contract to provide options to better suit flexible; approaches to work such as hours, annual leave entitlement;
• rewrite sections that are not clear to the user such as the notice period section; and
• review the use of a probationary period policy for the SCS.

108. In addition to the above, other areas of focus for the short term review, focused on improving SCS accountability, include:

• providing clarity of the business appointment rules and requirements for all members of the SCS;
• clarification around the declaration of interests obligations members of the SCS have and the process they need to follow to ensure they meet these obligations; and
• clarification on the behaviours and expectations of SCS around potential conflicts of interest.

109. To support the introduction of these changes, we also intend to produce a guidance document to support departments which will outline the key principles and expectations of how the contract will be used, including setting out which areas can be amended and what will need to be approved centrally.

110. The full proposals for the contract will be set out in more detail, in this year’s oral evidence.

Chapter 3 – Wider Context for the SCS and Civil Service

Civil Service People Plan

111. In the Civil Service we are committed to having the best people leading and working in government to deliver better outcomes for citizens. The Civil Service People Plan (2024-2027), published in January 2024, is about the Civil Service understanding our big people challenges and setting out what we will do to address them. It sets a clear direction and focus for the Civil Service to be the most dynamic, skilled and efficient that it can be. It establishes five People Priorities, set out below, that will ensure a Civil Service that is fit for current and future challenges:

• Learning, Skills and Capability - Providing a clear and targeted learning offer to ensure civil servants have the skills they need now and for the future.
• Pay and Reward - Rewarding excellence in public service delivery and recognising proven delivery and productivity.
• Employee Experience - Promoting an engaged workforce and culture of performance excellence, with effective line management.
• Recruitment, Retention & Talent - Securing the best people working in the right place with the right incentives in a timely way.
• High-performing HR function - Delivering innovation, expertise and agility, to help build thriving cultures, drive organisational success, streamline processes, and simplify the availability of our services to our employees.

112. The work continues on developing and implementing the People Plan, with the first annual review taking place in Spring 2025. A more detailed summary of this work will be available in next year’s report, and Government People Group will welcome further discussions with the SSRB on measures of progress throughout the year.

113. The People Priorities cover a range of work focused on delivering an effective SCS. Good progress has been made across Government on the delivery of the 45 commitments against these priorities, with 15% of the commitments now having been delivered and 76% on track for delivery by the end of the plan. Updates on key areas of work have been outlined below.

Learning, Skills and Capability

114. The Government Skills and Curriculum Unit (GSCU) was established in September 2020 to improve the capabilities of civil servants; the team is now more clearly called ‘Government Skills’. As set out in the Civil Service People Plan, this work aims to build a skilled, knowledgeable, and networked Civil Service. Confident and capable civil servants must develop the full spectrum of skills relevant for their role, including gaining both broad universal knowledge and deep specialist skills.

115. Our curriculum framework defines: 1) core skills, 2) specialist skills, and 3) leadership and management skills. New work has more clearly defined the core skills for every civil servant, from induction onwards. Specialists are offered the tools and training to deepen their expertise, including in high-demand areas like digital, data, science, commercial and project delivery. Professionalisation of skills will be celebrated, and capability will be assessed objectively against robust standards and accredited, where appropriate. We are fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement at all levels, led by the SCS. And we are becoming a data-driven learning organisation that is committed to impact evaluation and using insights to actively deploy and manage our workforce.

116. Through a standardised skills taxonomy, new digital Government Skills Campus and robust evaluation framework we will take a data driven approach to ensure that training is having a positive impact, resulting in better policy making and better public services for the country. We are also doing more to support our ministers to be effective, both in induction, and throughout their ministerial careers.

117. We continue to roll out our online Induction with over 30,000 participants across 25-30 departments and agencies, and a new model for SCS induction was introduced to build strong local networks. We have further invested in Digital and data skills for all to raise digital and data literacy across Government including masterclasses for senior leaders in data (2020) and innovation (2021) and both are now well established. We launched pilot courses for our Digital Excellence Programme on building digital and data cultures in 2023 and we will continue to develop these. We also supported One Big Thing 2023 helped all civil servants build their data skills.

118. We have undertaken a full scale core curriculum review of the Fast Stream to keep the offer current and to a high quality and designed a reformed future Fast Stream that will ensure a pipeline of leaders and managers to support the corporate functions. We have delivered a refreshed attraction and selection approach giving potential candidates a clearer preview of the Fast Stream offer, and which will aim to attract a greater number of graduates with a STEM background. Further information on the Fast Stream can be found in Annex F. We launched the bold 2022-2025 Civil Service Apprenticeships strategy with a refreshed commitment to creating a more skilled, professional workforce with quality and relevant apprenticeships built into strategic capability plans. Through our apprenticeship strategy and quality assurance framework we continue to upskill new and existing staff.

119. These principles apply fully to the SCS: new members of the SCS have already been benefiting from revised SCS inductions and a new SCS orientation for those joining from outside the Civil Service. Alongside this, the Leadership College for Government’s work to reform management and leadership skills is bringing greater coherence to central leadership programmes, delivered in collaboration with departments, functions, professions, and public sector organisations. We launched the first two programmes of new management pathways, supporting managers at all levels of the Civil Service to increase their line management capability.

Pay and Reward

Civil Service Reward Strategy

120. In addition to the commitment to the SCS strategy, as outlined in Chapter 2, work continues to develop a new Civil Service Reward Strategy that will address the systemic and long-standing problems with the Civil Service pay and reward framework.

121. The strategy’s overall aim is to provide a sustainable pay and reward framework.This framework will be one that enables the Civil Service to attract and retain the best workforce possible in order that the Government can deliver its missions, wider programmes and deliver for the public. There are significant, long-standing, complex and entrenched issues that the Civil Service needs to address. The absence of a unified strategy - aligned to other aspects of the workforce and reform priorities - makes the task of solving these problems much harder.

122. Extensive research has been completed as part of a Discovery Phase to understand the requirements of the long-term reform ambitions across the existing Civil Service reward framework. A series of strategic problem statements have been established which explore the root causes, symptoms and impacts of issues including pay disparity, which has unintentionally created an internal market within the Civil Service.

123. We will continue to work throughout the remainder of 2024 assessing a range of potential solutions and proposals, before then moving into a Design Stage from February 2025 to align with HM Treasury’s Spending Review timeline. Consideration of the optimal solutions for the SCS will be an important aspect of this work. We would actively welcome further engagement with the SSRB as we progress this important area of work.

Employee Experience

Places for Growth

124. The Civil Service has been strategically reshaping the workforce over the last four years to create end-to-end careers across the country and to strengthen our presence, visibility and connection to places.

125. To date, relocating 21,000 roles from London has delivered £146m in staff and estate savings which if maintained, are estimated to deliver £1.1bn in savings and £881m in local economic benefits by 2030.

126. By 2030, we intend to have established a network of locations across the UK where Civil and Public Servants are rooted in local communities and reflective of the places they serve. Recruitment will support sustainable career pathways in all locations and enable diversity of thought and experience to grow and flourish within the Civil Service.

127. The Civil Service needs to be visible in, and representative of, the entire UK, across all departments, functions and professions. A more regionally dispersed workforce has its benefits for the UK Civil Service as an organisation. By having policy-makers, strategists and a large percentage of the SCS based beyond Whitehall, the Civil Service can take full advantage of the untapped and diverse talent available in places across the whole of the UK.

128. In order to build sustainable career pathways and increase opportunities in locations targeted for Civil Service growth, the presence of SCS roles is key. Evidence is clear that strong senior cadre is needed to create thriving, sustainable Civil Service communities with end-to-end careers and symbiotic strategic relationships with local partners.

A more inclusive Civil Service

129. The Civil Service Diversity & Inclusion Strategy 2022-2025 outlines our commitment to having a truly diverse workforce with a culture of openness and inclusivity - not as ends in themselves but as means of delivering better outcomes to the citizens we serve. It outlines our aim of a Civil Service that:

• understands and draws from the communities it serves – drawing from a range of backgrounds, experiences and locations.
• is visible to everyone – engaging the communities we serve and showcasing what the Civil Service offers.
• is flexible – supporting innovation, performance and engagement.
• welcomes talent from wherever it comes – attracting the best talent from all backgrounds.

130. It sets a clear vision on how to achieve those aims, being a Civil Service that:

• Values Diversity of Teams;
  • Challenging groupthink and inspiring a greater diversity of thinking.
• Values and invests in its People;
  • Enabling career development through accessible and universal training.
• Has Collaborative Partnerships Underpinned by Our Values;
  • Systems and communities working collectively to deliver improved inclusion.
• Tackles Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination;
  • Specific actions for departments to take in continuing to address BHD.
• Tests its Policies.
  • Activity to be data-driven, evidence-led, and delivery focussed.

131. From 2025, the Government will  build on the progress that has been made, and will use the developed evidence base to professionalise the approach to Equality Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) delivery.

132. We are reviewing progress made within departments on implementing the recommendations from the major review (PDF, 679KB) (by Dame Sue Owen) of the Civil Service arrangements for tackling bullying, harassment and discrimination (BHD); to identify what more we can do to continue to make progress.

133. We are investing in innovative ways to improve our ability to address what can often be the biggest barrier to achieving improvements in workplace culture around BHD by using the Organisational Readiness Tool. Developed by Loughborough University this tool gives Civil Service organisations the ability to understand how to better prepare and plan BHD interventions. By enhancing an organisation’s readiness to change around BHD, we can improve its ability to successfully implement and uphold BHD interventions in the long-term. Thus, reducing the need for repetitive expenditure on those that are ineffective.

134. We are also monitoring progress on bullying, harassment and discrimination through the Civil Service People Survey, with increased reporting of instances, as a result of individuals feeling able to raise concerns, providing the data and evidence for robust interventions.

135. The annual ‘Speak Up’ campaigns across government, encourage reporting of issues where they arise while providing case studies highlighting actions taken as a result.

136. The Civil Service D&I Strategy committed to develop and deliver an Internal Assurance Framework and Civil Service Benchmark Standard to audit and measure the delivery of our strategic priorities, to ensure a consistent, effective and value for money approach is taken in line with government standards. The Benchmark Standard has been incorporated into the Civil Service Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Expenditure Guidance.

137. The Assurance Framework is being developed alongside an Evaluation Framework and guidance to support departments in maintaining a culture of testing and tracking interventions and theories of change which is focused on achieving the right outcomes. Together these frameworks will help to identify and promulgate best practice and highlight areas of concern and tackle them swiftly in a way which is evidence led. The Assurance Framework and Evaluation Framework have been developed and are being rolled-out to departments, enabling them to evaluate their interventions and programmes at the design, trialling, implementation, delivery and review stages of development.

138. In addition, the audit of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) spending enabled us to draw out key areas of spending and opportunities to implement mechanisms to rigorously evaluate the impact of this expenditure. Following its conclusion, a presumption against external EDI spending and increasing ministerial scrutiny of EDI spending whilst streamlining EDI training and HR processes with a view to getting value for the taxpayer has been introduced with the publication of Civil Service EDI Expenditure Guidance.

139. We are refreshing existing guidance and developing new to ensure that all civil servants, including those leading cross Civil Service diversity networks understand their responsibilities in relation to key behaviours which support inclusion. This also includes the Civil Service EDI Expenditure Guidance and Guidance on Diversity and Inclusion and Impartiality for Civil Servants.

Line Management Capability

140. As part of the People Plan commitments to improving capability and employee experience the core Line Management Standards were launched in June 2024. The Standards provide a framework for all line managers across government, providing clear and consistent expectations for good line management practice. The Standards have drawn on best practice evidence from academic research, professional bodies, across sectors and within government.

141. The Line Management Capability (LMC) programme will:

• Improve the productivity and capability of line managers across the Civil Service. The programme sets externally accredited Standards and requirements for line managers, with a commitment that 70% of the identified target cohort of priority line managers will achieve or be working towards accreditation by the end of 2025. The programme supports Government Skills and departments to enhance management learning offerings which are aligned to the new Standards.
• Raise the profile of and esteem for line management. The programme highlights the value and importance of the line manager’s role using insights from line managers themselves and featuring real life lived experiences of Civil Service line managers. This includes involvement in management and leadership sessions at CS Live and a series of live and recorded panel sessions and video features.
• Improve employee experience for staff and managers. The programme is advising on changes to ensure the Standards are embedded across the employee lifecycle. This includes development of tools and toolkits to support line managers, as well as amending policies linked to recruitment, performance management, learning and development and promotion. Line Management Standards will also be incorporated into functional and professional frameworks.

142. The LMC Programme is leading on development of revised Leadership Standards. The Leadership Standards will clearly define leadership and set consistent expectations for senior leaders in the Civil Service. LMC will deliver one framework which ensures senior leaders are supported to genuinely live and breathe mission leadership every day. This will include:

• Clear guidance on the Civil Service’s whole system leadership expectations.
• An evidenced framework for application into the SCS employee lifecycle.

Recruitment, Retention and Talent

143. As set out in last year’s evidence, the people priorities clearly reflect the need to ensure ‘the right people are working in the right places with the right incentives’.

• a.    Driving forward a raft of measures to improve recruitment (outcomes of 2023’s end to end review), including improving time to hire, civil service attraction and branding, and recruitment discovery pilots.
• b.    Ensuring that all departments, functions and professions use secondments as a part of their strategic resourcing plans. Secondments will be used as a lever for bringing cutting edge skills into the civil service where needed most, and talent development.

144. To address the issue of undesirable turnover (and churn) in the SCS, a new assignment duration policy was introduced on 4 July 2022.

145. This policy sets the expectation of assignment durations as a default minimum duration of 3 years for all SCS 1 and 2 posts. The exact length in role to be set by the vacancy holder to support delivery of the requirements of the Outcome Delivery Plans and/or Project timelines for roles. There is scope for exceptions to assignment durations in line with business requirements and to take into account personal circumstances. This does not constitute a contractual change, but will instead be driven by a change in culture and organisational and vacancy holder and applicant expectations.

146. The initial impact of the policy is currently being reviewed and we can confirm that all 17 Whitehall Departments have fully implemented the policy and do give assignment durations to all relevant roles. A fuller evaluation will be completed in July 2025, following completion of the first 3-year period.

Talent Pipeline

147. The Civil Service talent approach works to ensure that the Civil Service attracts, develops and retains talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds, to create a brilliant Civil Service now and for the future.

148. The Government’s aim is to develop a strong and diverse pipeline of inspiring, confident and empowering leaders to shape the future of the Civil Service. The cross-Civil Service centrally managed accelerated development schemes aim to create a strong, diverse and robust pipeline through to the most senior roles in government. Annex F provides further information and latest data on development schemes.

SCS Recruitment

149. Recruitment across the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s (CSC) Recruitment Principles which set out the legal requirement for appointments to the Civil Service to be made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. All Civil Service appointments, including decisions regarding SCS, are made in line with these principles.

150. The Civil Service advertises all SCS1 and SCS2 vacancies on the principle of External by Default. External by Default means that vacancies will be open to external candidates outside the Civil Service, as well as existing civil servants, unless an exception applies. At the end December 2023, 96% of all SCS 1 and 2 permanent vacancies were advertised externally. The policy helps ensure we are getting the right skills, in the right place, at the right time, in order to strengthen our ability to deliver quality outcomes for UK citizens and to strengthen equality of opportunity by opening up vacancies to the widest possible pool of candidates.

151. Director General and Permanent Secretary recruitment is overseen by the Senior Talent and Resourcing Team. They also run all Permanent Secretary competitions and the majority of Director General campaigns. Although there are clearly similarities in the recruitment approach and we aim to provide consistency to all candidates, processes for Deputy Director and Director differ from those for Director General and Permanent Secretary.

152. Deputy Director and Director recruitment is run by departments with central policy and guidance provided by GPG.

153. All SCS recruitment products are developed by GPG in consultation with the Civil Service Commission as the independent regulator and owner of the Civil Service Recruitment Principles.

154. The CSC is further involved for SCS2 externally advertised campaigns. Person specifications must also be signed off by the Civil Service Commissioner chairing the campaign.

End-to-end Recruitment Review

155. GPG Recruitment Directorate set out a significant and ambitious work plan designed to improve effective recruitment, following the recommendations set out in the End-to-End Recruitment Review (E2ERR). The work incorporates complementary commitments made by the then Minister for Cabinet Office (MCO) in July on recruitment and secondments as part of the next phase of Civil Service reform plans.

Retention

156. Turnover in the SCS decreased to 10.9% in 2023/24 (down from 14.3% in 2022/23, and similar to 2020/21 when turnover in the SCS was 10.7%). Departmental turnover, which includes movements between Departments, decreased to 15.5% (down from 27.7% in 2022/23, and 21.7% in 2021/22, when a substantial proportion of moves between departments occurred due to machinery of government changes in DIT/BEIS and DHSC respectively and as such departmental turnover rates in 2022/23 and 2021/22 should be interpreted with caution as they may not represent the underlying rates). The resignation rate decreased to 4.2% in 2023/24 (down from 5.9% in 2022/23 and the lowest level since 2020/21 when the resignation rate was 3.1%).

157. Median tenure in post was 2.5 years as of the 1st April 2024, an increase from 2023 and the highest it has been since 2012. Median tenure within the pay band was 3.3 years at 1st April 2024, an increase from 2023 when it was 2.9 years.

158. Although movement amongst senior talent is not problematic in itself (and indeed may be reflective at times of necessary agility to respond to changing Government priorities such as the response to Covid-19), churn within the SCS is felt to occur too frequently without reference to business need, exacerbated by the current incentives within the system.

Annex A - SCS Pay 2024/25 - Application of award by departments

Department	5% consolidated base pay award	Use of non- consolidated performance pay pot	End year non- consolidated performance related pay for 2022/23 performance	In year contribution awards for 2022/23 performance
Cabinet Office	The SCS award was paid in November 2024 and backdated to 1 April 2024. All eligible SCS members were uplifted to the new minima and then given a 5% consolidated pay increase	The full 3.3% pot available was used for in-year and end-year non-consolidated awards.	The level of end-year award by pay band was: SCS1 – £7,000 SCS2 - £9,000 SCS3 - £11,000 Paid to all SCS with an ‘Exceeded’ marking: 27.5% of SCS.	- Awards made to 19% of SCS cadre. - Awards were all £4,000. - Awards were exceptional and paid only to individuals with proven evidence-based delivery. - The following criteria was used to assess nominations: - Evidence of the successful delivery of challenging/stretching milestones (through smarter working, demonstrating leadership and stakeholder management behaviours and not just as a result of long working hours). - Evidence of going above and beyond; for example, making an exceptional corporate contribution. - Evidence of demonstrating/role modelling departmental values - Payments were made on a quarterly basis, following a central panel approval process taking place.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport	The SCS award was paid in November 2024 and backdated to 1 April 2024. All eligible SCS members received a 5% consolidated pay increase.	The full 3.3% pot available was used for in-year and end-year non-consolidated awards.	The level of end-year award by pay band and performance marking was: SCS1: £3,150 - High Performing £5,450 - Exceeded SCS2: £3,350 - High Performing £5,650 - Exceeded SCS3: £3,550 - High Performing £5,850 - Exceeded Paid to all SCS with an ‘Exceeded’ marking: 8.8% of SCS. Paid to 36.8% of SCS with ‘High Performing’ marking.	- 40% used. - Awards made to 28 SCS. - Awards ranged from £1,000 to £5,000 each. - Awards were exceptional and paid only to individuals with proven evidence-based delivery. - The following criteria was used to assess nominations: - Evidence of the successful delivery of challenging/stretching milestones (through smarter working, demonstrating leadership and stakeholder management behaviours and not just as a result of long working hours). - Evidence of going above and beyond; for example, making an exceptional corporate contribution. - Evidence of demonstrating/role modelling departmental values - Payments were made throughout the year from Q1 to Q4
Department of Energy Security and Net Zero	The SCS award was paid in August 2024 and backdated to 1 April 2024. All eligible SCS members received a 5% consolidated pay increase. The consolidated increase of 5% was applied after the pay has been uplifted to the revised pay band minimum. Where the consolidated increase of 5% exceeded the pay range maximum, the excess of the award above the pay range was paid as a one-off, non-consolidated, non-pensionable lump sum payment.	The full 3.3% pot available was used for in-year and end-year non-consolidated awards.	The level of end-year awards by pay band were: SCS1: High Performing - £3,000 Exceeding - £7,500 SCS2: High Performing - £4,000 Exceeding - £10,000 SCS3: High Performing - £6,000 Exceeding - £14,000 Paid to SCS with an ‘Exceeding’ marking: 15% of SCS1 20% of SCS2 20% of SCS3 Total of all SCS: 16% Paid to all SCS with a “High Performing” marking: 23% of SCS1 29% of SCS2 40% of SCS3 Total of all SCS: 25%	- Awards of £2,000 will be made to up to 57 SCS. - This is a max of 28% of SCS. - Awards will be £2,000 by default, but DGs can choose to pay fewer awards at a higher value (up to £5k). - Awards will be paid only to those individuals demonstrating exceptional delivery. - DGs agree payments based on nominations from Directors. - Payments are made throughout the performance year.
Department for Education	The SCS award was paid in October 2024 and backdated to 1 April 2024. All eligible SCS members received a 5% consolidated pay increase as well as band minima increase of £1k for SCS 1 to SCS 3	The full 3.3% pot available was used for non-consolidated awards.	No end year payments were made as the department is piloting the SCS ABLE approach as agreed with the Cabinet Office. This approach includes In Year Awards and a small number of Sustained Excellence Awards (SEA) paid towards the financial year end. SEAs were paid to 18.4% of the SCS, averaging £3964 per award. The pay band breakdown is as follows: - 16.4% of SCS1, averaging £3750 - 28.3% of SCS2, averaging £4500 *Data excludes Director Generals	The Department is operating its SCS ABLE pilot with agreement from the Cabinet Office which includes In Year Awards and Sustained Excellence Awards. In total last year: - In Year Awards were made to 159 SCS (59.8%). - All In Year Awards were capped at £5k each. Awards recognised excellence in a variety of areas, from management to business delivery and for varying periods of time, with payments made throughout the year. *Data excludes Directors General
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs	The SCS award was paid in October 2024 and backdated to 1 April 2024. All eligible SCS members received a 5% consolidated pay increase.  SCS members below the new pay band minima received an increase to the pay band minima before the 5% increase was applied.	The full 3.3% pot available was used for in-year and end-year non-consolidated awards.	The level of end-year award across all pay bands was: Exceeded – £6,000 High Performing - £4,000 Paid to all SCS with an ‘Exceeded’ marking: 12% of SCS. Paid to all SCS with a ‘High Performing’ marking: 26% of SCS.	- Awards made to 26% of SCS. - Awards ranged from £1,000 to £3,500 each. - Awards were exceptional and paid only to individuals with proven evidence-based delivery. - Awards made for exceptional contribution – typically shorter term with examples including (but not limited to): - Vital contributions or interventions to key priorities that had a significant and noticeable impact. - Working over and above normal expectations in the face of greater demands, and/or, departmental resource deficits. - Exceptional leadership and corporate contribution, recognised by the majority of their peers and affected staff. - Payments were made throughout the year.
Department of Health and Social Care	The SCS award was paid in October 2024 and backdated to 1 April 2024. All eligible SCS members received a 5% consolidated pay increase. The consolidated increase of 5% was applied after the pay of SCS members had been uplifted to the revised pay band minimums for the grade. Where the consolidated pay increase of 5% exceeded the pay range maximum, the excess of the award above the pay range maximum was paid as a one-off, non-consolidated, non-pensionable lump sum payment. Consolidated pay awards were not paid to any member of the SCS who was subject to poor performance procedures and who was paid above the minimum.	The full 3.3% pot available was used for in-year and end-year non-consolidated awards.	The level of end year bonus payments were the same value for each SCS grade. They were paid as follows: Exceeded £7,500 – paid to 14% of SCS on civil service terms and conditions. High Performing £4,00 – paid to 37% of SCS on civil service terms and conditions.	In year awards: - 99 SCS (48%) on civil service terms and conditions received an in-year award. - Awards ranged from £1,000 - £3,000 each. - Awards are paid exceptionally and only where the contribution made is beyond that which would normally be expected of the individual concerned, with proven evidence-based delivery. - The following are examples of actions and behaviours that are rewarded: - An exceptional level of commitment, resolution and delivery to get a job done in challenging circumstances. - Exceptionally high standards of customer service/delivery either in a strategic or operational role. - An outstanding contribution over and above what would normally be expected for the job (in a particularly demanding situation). - Enhanced level of contribution and implementation of ideas which led to improved departmental/Civil Service performance, greater efficiency, improved teamwork, cost savings etc. - Demonstrating SCS leadership behaviours (inspiring, confident, and/or empowering) and improving engagement within DH. - Making an outstanding contribution to delivering against the wider Health agenda. - DHSC has three SCS in-year award discussions each financial year. In 2023/24, payments were made in August 2023, December 2023, and March 2024.
Department for Business and Trade	The consolidated SCS award was paid in October 2024 and backdated to 1 April 2024. All eligible SCS members received a 5% consolidated pay increase.	The full 3.3% pot available was used for in-year and end of year non-consolidated awards.	In respect of the 2023/24 performance year, the following performance awards were paid in November to eligible staff: SCS1: £3,250 - High Performing £7,250 - Exceeded SCS2: £4,500 - High Performing £10,000 - Exceeded SCS3: £5,750 - High Performing £12,000 - Exceeded All SCS staff who received an ‘Exceeding’ rating received a performance award, and this constituted 14% of DBT’s SCS cadre. All SCS who received a ‘High Performing’ rating received a performance award, and this constituted  34% of DBT’s SCS cadre	- Spent around a third of overall NCPRP budget on in-year awards. - Gave these out at three points throughout the year, evenly spaced, so that achievements and strong performance can be recognised in a timely way, to reinforce the incentive. - Focussed on rewarding strong policy delivery, corporate contributions, and leadership activities in allocating awards. - Give IYAs at a range of values between £500-£2,500. - Around 40% of all SCS received an IYA during the 2023/24 performance year.
Department of Science, Innovation and Technology	The SCS award was paid in August 2024 and backdated to 1 April 2024. All eligible SCS members received a 5% consolidated pay increase.	The full 3.3% pot available was used for end-year and will be used for In Year non-consolidated awards	The level of end-year award by pay band was: SCS1 – £6,000 SCS2 - £8,000 SCS3 - £10,000 Paid to all SCS with an ‘Exceeded’ marking: 15.4% of SCS. SCS1 - £2,500 SCS2 - £3,500 SCS3 - £5,000 Paid to 27.7% of SCS with ‘High Performing’ marking.	- The department will shortly be undertaking  the SCS IYA panels for 2024/2025 - Awards will be made to qualifying SCS. - Awards values are yet to be agreed - Awards will be exceptional and paid only to individuals with proven evidence-based delivery. - Set criteria were used to assess nominations - Payments will be made shortly with an exact date to be confirmed.
Department for Transport	The SCS pay award was paid in October 2024 and backdated to 1 April 2024. All eligible SCS members received a 5% consolidated pay increase.	Used the full 3.3% non-consolidated performance pay pot.	The level of SCS end-year awards by pay band was: Exceeding: SCS1 – £7,500 SCS2 - £8,500 SCS3 - £9,500 Paid to all SCS with an ‘Exceeded’ marking: 23% of SCS. High performing: SCS1 – £4,000 SCS2 – £4,000 SCS3 - £4,000 Paid to all SCS with a ‘High Performing’ marking: 20% of SCS.	- 37% of the NCPRP budget was used for in-year awards. - Awards made to 216 SCS. - Flat rate in-year award value of £2,000. - Each DG group has an indicative number of in-year awards. The number of awards allocated is dependent on the number of SCS in each DG group (as a percentage of total SCS). Nominations were assessed against the following general criteria: - Strong contributions and delivery of a Policy, Strategy or Corporate response with immediate and longer-term benefits for the Department. - Role modelling and delivering against our Strategic Priorities. - Exceptional leadership through change and complexity. - Overseeing additional areas and / or managing resourcing pressures. - Particular dedication to development of organisational capability and capacity. - Role modelling Civil Service leadership including diversity and inclusion. - Exceptional and sustained leadership through crisis and operational response. - For 2024-25 we have 4 in-year award rounds scheduled. Round 1 – Paid in August 2024 Round 2 – To be paid in November 2024 Round 3 – To be paid in January 2025 Round 4 – To be paid in March 2025
Department for Work and Pensions	The SCS pay award was paid in October 2024 and backdated to 01 April 2024. All eligible SCS members received a 5% consolidated pay increase. The consolidated increase of 5% was applied after any increase necessary to uplift members to the revised pay band minimum. Where the consolidated pay increase of 5% exceeded the pay range maximum the consolidated increase was capped at the maximum and, any excess of the award above the pay range maximum was paid as a one-off, non-consolidated, non-pensionable lump sum payment.	The full 3.3% pot available was used for in-year and end-year non-consolidated awards.	SCS1 – up to £7,100 SCS2 – up to £9,400 SCS3 – up to £15,000 The above awards were paid to all SCS with an end-year performance rating of ‘High Performing’ which was 30% of SCS. The DWP Pay Committee agreed to use 3 of the 4 performance ratings available and chose not to use the exceeding rating. End year bonuses are ‘up to’ the amounts quoted above. Individuals that met the criteria for an end year performance bonus who had not received an in-year award received the amount stated above. Individuals that met the criteria for an end year performance bonus who had already received an in-year award were paid a reduced end year performance bonus so that the total amount of bonus that they received over the full performance year did not exceed the above amounts. 30.97% (96 out of 310) of SCS received a High performing end year performance bonus.	- 40% of the non-consolidated pot was used to fund in-year awards. - 195 in-year awards were made in total to 62.9% of SCS. - In-year awards ranged between £500 and £3,000. - The average in-year award was £1,814. The actions and behaviours that were recognised and awarded were to individuals that have: - made a significant contribution to a cross departmental initiative. - made a significant contribution to the development of a function. profession or network - delivered against stretching project milestones. - made an exceptional work-related corporate contribution. - Lived the DWP values. - Made a significant contribution to achieving objectives in DWPs Outcome Delivery Plan. - In-year awards were made throughout the year.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office	The SCS pay award was paid in October 2024 and backdated to 1 April 2024. All eligible SCS members in post on 1 April 2024 received a minimum 4% consolidated pay increase. Actual consolidated increases ranged from 4% to 8%, dependent upon an individual’s 2023-24 moderated performance outcome and their position in pay range.  These consolidated awards are supplemented by non-consolidated payments from the non-consolidated pay pot. The consolidated pay award was inclusive of any increase necessary to uplift members to the revised pay band minima. Where the consolidated pay award exceeded the pay range maxima, the excess of the award above the maxima was paid as a one-off, non-consolidated, non-pensionable lump sum payment. Consolidated pay awards were not paid to any member of the FCDO SCS workforce who was subject to poor performance procedures and who was paid above the revised pay range minima.	The full 3.3% pot available was used for end-year non-consolidated awards.	- Non-consolidated awards were paid to all SCS with a 2023-24 performance outcome that was subject to moderation.  These payments accompanied the consolidated increase. - The value varied individually based on an employee’s position in pay range and final moderated performance outcome. - 2023-24 performance outcomes were distributed as follows: Exceeding – 20% High Performing – 34% Achieving – 44% Partially Met – 2%	The FCDO did not make any in-year awards to its SCS employees in the 2023-24 performance year.
Home Office	The SCS award was paid in November 2024 and backdated to 1 April 2024. All eligible SCS members received a 5% consolidated pay increase, capped at the max of the grade. Anyone who met the eligibility criteria but was capped at the max of the grade received a non-consolidated top up. Additionally those below the new minima received this uplift prior to the application of the 5%	The full 2.88% pot available within HO was used for in-year and end-year non-consolidated awards. For 2023/24 this was a 30% in Year, 70% end year award split. For 2024/25 ExCo agreed to a 40/60 split which is reflected in the figures provided for 2023/24 performance year End Year Payment values	The level of end-year award by pay band was Exceeding: SCS1 – £9,250 SCS2 - £11,750 vSCS3 - £14,250 Paid to 22 SCS with an ‘Exceeded’ marking. High Performing: SCS1 – £7,000 SCS2 - £9,500 SCS3 - £12,000 Paid to 84 SCS with ‘High Performing’ marking.	- 30% of the budget used. - Awards made to 229 SCS. - Awards ranged from £150 to £5,000 each. - Awards were exceptional and paid only to individuals with proven evidence-based delivery. - The following criteria was used to assess nominations: - Evidence of the successful delivery of challenging/stretching milestones (through smarter working, demonstrating leadership and stakeholder management behaviours and not just as a result of long working hours). - Evidence of going above and beyond; for example, making an exceptional corporate contribution. - Evidence of demonstrating/role modelling departmental values - Payments were  mainly made at mid-year (October 2023) and last quarter (January 2024) points, however, Home Office aims to recognise work in a timely manner, and subject to meeting the above criteria, were paid in each month from July-March.
HM Revenue & Customs	The SCS award was paid in September 2024 and backdated to 1 April 2024. All eligible SCS members received a 5% consolidated pay increase.	The full 3.3% pot available was used for in-year and end-year non-consolidated awards.	The level of payment by pay band for Exceeded was: SCS1 - £ 8,100 SCS2 - £ 10,100 SCS3 - £ 13,100 Paid to 7.6% of SCS The level of payment by pay band for High Performing was: SCS1 - £ 6,100 SCS2 - £ 8,100 SCS3 - £ 11,100 Paid to 27.1% of SCS Year-end awards were offset by the value of any in-year awards received for the same performance year.	- Awards made to 59% of SCS. - Awards recognised critical and exceptional performance, leadership and contribution during 2023/24. - Awards capped at £2,000 each. Ranging from £250-£2,000 - Payments made throughout the year
Ministry of Defence	The SCS award was paid in October 2024 and backdated to 1 April 2024. All eligible SCS members received a 5% consolidated pay increase.	The full 3.3% pot available was used for in-year and end-year non-consolidated awards.	The level of end-year award was £10,500 for all SCS Pay Bands. Awards were prorated based on hours worked. Paid to 15% of SCS with ‘Exceeded’ marking.	- 33% of SCS. - Awards made at £5,000 but pro rata on hours worked. - Awards recognised those staff that just missed out on an end-year ‘Exceeded’ marking who received a ‘high performing’ marking in 2023/24. - Payments made at the end of the reporting year.
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government	The SCS award was paid in November 2024 and backdated to 1 April 2024. All eligible SCS members received a 5.0% consolidated pay increase.	The full 3.3% pot available will be used for in-year and end-year non-consolidated awards.	The level of end-year award by pay band was: SCS1 – £9,500 SCS2 - £14,000 SCS3 - £14,000 Paid to all SCS with an ‘Exceeded’ marking: 25% of SCS. SCS1 – £5,000 SCS2 - £8,000 SCS3 - £10,000 Paid to 18% of SCS with ‘High Performing’ marking.	- Balance of 3.3% set aside for in-year performance awards of £3.5k each to circa 35% of SCS cadre. - Awards are exceptional and paid only to individuals with proven evidence-based delivery. - Payments are made are made through the year anytime between August 2024 (following publication of SSRB and HRD Practitioner guidance  29th July 2024) and the end of  performance year March 2025 - In-years for Deputy Director and Director are delegated to DG Group level, with nominations discussed and agreed at SLTs and individual letters drafted and recorded on personal files; In-years for Directors General are discussed and agreed with Permanent Secretary, HRD & Head of Reward
Ministry of Justice Includes CICA, HMCTS, HMPPS, JAC, LAA and JAC operating as a group reward approach.	The SCS award was paid in August 2024 and backdated to 1 April 2024. - All eligible SCS members received a 5% consolidated pay increase. - The consolidated increase of 5% was inclusive of any increase necessary to uplift members to the revised pay band minimum. - Where the consolidated pay increase of 5% exceeded the pay range maximum, the excess of the award above the pay range maximum was paid as a one-off, non-consolidated, non-pensionable lump sum payment. Consolidated pay awards were not paid to any member of the SCS who was subject to poor performance procedures and who was paid above the minimum.	The full 3.3% pot available was used for in-year and end-year non-consolidated awards.	The level of payment by pay band for end year awards were: - SCS1 - £9,300 - SCS2 - £11,600 - SCS3 - £13,500 Paid to 15.3% of SCS with an ‘Exceeded’ marking. And: - SCS1 - £4,200 - SCS2 - £5,000 - SCS3 - £8,000 Paid to 22.4% of SCS with ‘High Performing’ marking. Payments were paid prorated for part-time SCS.	- Awards made to 19.9% of our SCS. - Awards ranged from £650 to £4,000 each. - Awards were exceptional and paid only to individuals with proven evidence-based delivery. The following criteria was used to assess nominations: - Strong contributions and delivery of a Policy, Strategy or Corporate response with immediate and longer-term benefits for the Department. - Role modelling and delivering against our Strategic Priorities. - Exceptional leadership through change and complexity. - Overseeing additional areas and / or managing resourcing pressures. - Particular dedication to development of organisational capability and capacity. - Role modelling Civil Service leadership including diversity and inclusion. - Exceptional and sustained leadership through crisis and operational response. Payments were made from February and up to March 2024.
HM Treasury	The SCS award was paid in October 2024 and backdated to 1 April 2024. All eligible SCS members received a 5% consolidated pay increase. In line with the guidance, the consolidated increase was applied after the pay of SCS members had been uplifted to the revised pay band minimum (if they were previously below this point).	The full 3.3% pot available was used for in-year and end-year non-consolidated awards.	End-year non-consolidated pay was provided across performance marking, varied by grade. SCS1 – Exceeding = £10,000, High Performing = £5,000 SCS2 – Exceeding = £12,000, High Performing = £6,000 SCS3 – Exceeding = £14,000, High Performing = £7,000 Paid to all SCS moderated as ‘Exceeding’ (28%) Paid to all SCS moderated as ‘High Performing’ (16%)	19.5% of SCS received an in-year award (29 staff) Awards ranged from £1,500 to £3,000 In-year awards were paid in August 2023 and in the last quarter (February 2024). August 2023 in-year awards recognised contribution to individuals nominated for specific work projects and those that just missed out on an end-year top performance award for 2022/23’ February 2024 in-year award recipients were identified through sustained high-performance against set objectives through Q1-Q3, identifying those that had exceeded expectation to that point.

Annex B - SCS Pay on appointment exceptions

1. In April 2018, a new pay on appointment policy for the SCS was introduced to help control departmental turnover. The rules are:

a. that no increase is given for moves on level transfer; and

b. that on promotion, SCS receive no more than 10% increase or the minimum of the new grade.

2. An exception process is, however, available in cases where internal candidates are moving to roles with greater scale or responsibility for increases to be offered, with the agreement of the Permanent Secretary and the relevant Head of Profession.

3. Pay exceptions at Director General level require the approval of a DG RemCo. Six  Director General exceptions were agreed in 2023/24. During this period there were 37 new Director General appointments, of which 30 were internal moves (22 on promotion and eight level transfers). At Director and Deputy Director level, main departments have reported 63 exception cases. The table below shows the number of cases and median salary agreed for each SCS grade.

Pay on appointment exceptions by pay band

Grade	Deputy Director	Director	Director General
Number of exceptions	35	28	6
Median salary agreed	£84,210	£115,000	£134,450

4. Cabinet Office issues guidance to departments with the annual SCS pay award practitioners guide. SCS pay exceptions are subject to the following criteria:

• Sustained high performance, increased effectiveness, deepened capability and expertise; and
• That the individual is relatively low in the pay range and/or have benefited less or not at all from the rise in the minima.

Departments should also consider the equality impact of any decisions made on exceptions, as well as any precedents they might be setting.

5. Cabinet Office helps departments make assessments of pay position by providing pay data by profession (lower quartile/median/upper quartile) annually. Some professions (e.g. Finance) also actively support departments with applications by providing additional guidance.

Assessment of cases – Directors General

6. More information is held centrally on Directors General cases because they require approval of a DG Pay Committee. In accordance with the criteria, the weight and challenge of the role was considered as well as the skills and experience of the individual. Decisions are informed by pay quartile data by profession.

7. Six DG exceptions were agreed by the DG Pay Committee in 2023/24.

8. Exceptions were agreed for roles in the Operational Delivery, Policy, Government Finance and Government Statistical Service professions.

Assessment of cases – Deputy Directors and Directors

9. Main Whitehall departments reported that 63 exception cases were agreed at SCS1 and 2 level in 2022/23. The key headlines are:

Pay Band	Level transfer cases agreed	Pay on promotion cases agreed
SCS1	8	27
SCS2	16	12
Total	24	39

• Exceptions have been granted for 13 different professions – Digital, Data and Technology (13), Project Delivery (10) and Government Finance (9) have the highest numbers.
• The median increase agreed for level transfer was 9% and 18% for pay on promotion.

Annex C - Pensions

1. Pensions continue to form a critical part of the Civil Service total reward package, with both Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution pensions arrangements^{[footnote 2]} available to members of the SCS.

2. Civil Service Pensions established ‘alpha’, a Career Average Defined Benefit pension scheme, on 1 April 2015. Since that date, all new joiners of Civil Service Pensions participate in alpha for future pension accrual, and the final tranche of all legacy scheme (PCSPS) members moved to alpha on 1 April 2022 for future accrual, although those with service in the final salary sections (classic, classic plus, and premium) will have their final salary calculated based on their salary when they leave alpha, even if that is many years in the future.

3. Alpha has an accrual rate of 2.32% of pensionable earnings, and is revalued each year by the change in the CPI index with no cap. Benefits are payable without reduction from an individual’s State Pension age. A key feature of the scheme design is that the value of a member’s accrued pension is not reduced by leaving the scheme, eg, if they change employer. Hence the scheme does not create barriers to labour market mobility. Members can transfer-in external pensions within their first 12 months of scheme membership. Members can only transfer pension out to Defined Benefit schemes.

4. As a consequence of the McCloud judgment, those who have been active members of the defined benefit scheme from 31st March 2012 onwards, will be provided with a choice at retirement of either their pre-2015 scheme benefits or alpha benefits for the period 2015-22^{[footnote 2]}.

5. Individual member contributions are determined by actual annual earnings (so part-time workers are likely to pay a lower contribution rate even though their Full-Time Equivalent salary would put them in a higher contribution band), which then fall within salary bands shown in the table below. The overall average employee contribution rate is 5.6%, which is in line with the yield target set by HM Treasury and lower than most other contributory major unfunded Public Service Pension Schemes.

Table 1: Civil Service pension scheme member contribution rates, 1 April 2024 - 31 March 2025.

Actual Earnings	Contribution Rates
£0.00 to £34,199	4.60%
£34,200 to £56,000	5.45%
£56,001 to £150,000	7.35%
£150,001 and above	8.05%

Contribution rates for 2025/26 will remain the same. The £56,001 to £150,000 salary threshold will remain unchanged in 2025/26. The salary threshold for the 4.6% contribution rate will increase in line with CPI from £34,199 to £34,799.

6. The pension valuation cycle sets the ‘employer’ contribution rate, which is a flat-rate of 28.97%. This consists of:

a. 23.60% for the cost of newly accruing pension

b. 5.10% past-service deficit payment and

c. 0.27% administration cost.

7. For SCS who pay a higher member contribution rate of 7.35%, the value of the employer contribution for newly accruing pension is 21.85%.

8. It should be noted that the value of alpha benefits is significantly higher for older members (members aged 50+), but the figures above are based on scheme-wide averages. A 40 year old SCS member would have an employer contribution valued at around 20%, whereas a 60 year old SCS member would have an employer contribution valued at around 30% when their ages and salaries are taken into account rather than using scheme-wide averages. 

9. The employer contribution rate is generous when compared to the private sector where employees will generally be provided with a defined contribution scheme. As defined contribution schemes are investment based, the employee also bears the risk of the pension not providing the expected level of income in retirement.

10. Most members of private sector pension schemes receive an employer contribution of 3 to 4% of salary. The Pension and Lifetime Savings Association publish Pension Quality Mark (PQM) Standards^{[footnote 4]} which set long-established standards for higher quality employer pension schemes. These include a requirement to contribute:

a. 12% of pensionable pay, with at least 6% from employer for PQM

b. 15% of pensionable pay, with at least 10% from the employer for PQM+

11. The Partnership pension scheme is a Defined Contribution pension scheme, which civil servants can switch to at any time after they join the Civil Service.

12. Table 7 below shows the automatic Partnership employer contribution rate. The Partnership pension scheme does not require any member contributions, but if a member chooses to make contributions, in addition to the rates shown below, their employer will also match their contribution, up to 3%. For example, if a 47 year old chooses to contribute 4%, their employer contributes 14.75% + 3% = 17.75%, which along with the member’s 4% contribution gives a total contribution of 21.75%.

Table 3: Employer Partnership contribution rates applicable from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2025

Age at last 6 April	Percentage of pensionable earnings
Under 31	8.00%
31 to 35	9.00%
36 to 40	11.00%
41 to 45	13.50%
46 or over	14.75%

Pension Tax from April 2020

13. From April 2020 the limits for the tapered Annual Allowance increased significantly. Prior to April 2020, the tapered Annual Allowance affected Civil Servants in alpha earning over £116,000. After April 2002 the tapered Annual Allowance is only an issue for the very highest paid SCS members (£200,000+).

14. Annual Allowance nonetheless continued to be an issue for the Civil Service, with members earning over £100,000 being close to or exceeding the Annual Allowance and incurring a charge on their pension saving, especially those with long-service in the final salary sections who were promoted.

15. The Spring Budget 2023 announced three main changes which impact Civil Service pension members: the increase in the Annual Allowance (AA) from £40,000 to £60,000 from 2023/24; allowing the ‘netting off’ of positive and negative growth in pensions between alpha and the PCSPS from 2023/24; and the abolition of the Lifetime Allowance (LTA).

16. With the AA set at £60,000 a civil servant who only has alpha service can earn almost £162,000 p.a. before exceeding the allowance, compared to £108,000 in 2022/23. These figures discount the potential impact of inflationary increases on past pension accrual, which can have a significant effect when the rate of inflation increases (this is due the inflation measures used in the HMRC calculation to adjust the value of accrued pension not aligning with the inflation measure used for alpha revaluation, due to differences in the tax year and scheme year).

17. The ‘netting off’ between alpha and PCSPS is also expected to have a positive impact in reducing the number of members facing tax charges. This is because previously members with service in both PCSPS and alpha could see negative growth in one and an AA breach in the other, but were not able to combine the two to lower or remove the breach (which would reduce any tax due). This occurs when salaries increase by less than the rate of CPI.

18. Members who continue to breach the annual allowance and attract a tax charge retain the option to reduce their pension to meet an AA tax charge using a process called Scheme Pays, and so do not have to pay HMRC a tax charge directly.

19. The Lifetime Allowance has been abolished, and replaced by a Lump Sum Allowance which restricts the amount of tax-free pension lump an individual can receive to £268,275. This is only likely to affect Civil Servants with significant external pensions.

20. The alpha pension scheme does not have an automatic lump sum, and only the classic and classic plus sections of the PCSPS have an automatic lump sum. The scheme offers lump sum commutation at a rate of £12 of tax free lump sum per £1 of income. This rate is fixed, and is not set actuarially. It is lower than private sector Defined Benefit schemes offer (typical private sector commutation rates are 20:1 or slightly lower) and the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), which sets commutation rates to be actuarially neutral. At age 60 the PPF offers commutation^{[footnote 5]} at £19.90 of lump sum per £1 of pension commuted, and at age 66 £16.65 of lump sum per £1.

21. With the abolition of the Lifetime Allowance and increases to the Annual Allowance amount and taper, there should be very few reasons a member may wish to either opt-out of the pension scheme entirely, or feel compelled to switch to Partnership due to tax considerations, aside from possibly the highest earners in excess of £200,000 p/a.

Pensions tax in 2022-23 and the Remedy Period

22. Pension Saving Statements were not issued to Remedy members in 2022/23 and are instead being issued alongside 2023/24 Pension Saving Statements, along with revised Pension Inputs for the 2015-22 Remedy period.

23. Around 36,000 members affected by the Remedy will need to enter the revised pension inputs into a HMRC calculator to determine whether a tax charge is due, or whether a past tax charge was under or overstated.

24. Where a tax charge for the remedy period has reduced, members will receive compensation. If a tax has increased prior to 2019/20 there will be no further action, if the charge related to 2019/20 or later HMRC will adjust tax records accordingly and arrange for the correct amount of tax to be paid either directly by the member or via a Scheme Pays reduction to the member’s pension. The scheme expects that around 1,800 members will receive compensation for past overpaid tax charges, and up to 200 may have an increased amount of tax to pay.

Annex D - Permanent secretaries remuneration

1. A robust framework applies to Permanent Secretary pay; roles are assigned to one of three pay tiers, within the overall range (pay band), based on size and complexity. Specialists who receive market premium pay for their roles (e.g. the Cabinet Secretary and Chief Medical Officer) sit outside of the tiers.

2. Pay and performance is assessed by the Permanent Secretary Remuneration Committee (PSRC), with membership comprising the Lead NED for Government as chair, the Cabinet Secretary, Civil Service Chief Operating Officer and Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office, Permanent Secretary to HMT, Permanent Secretary to Department of Health and Social Care, Chair of the SSRB and two department NEDs.

3. PSRC’s remit is to provide an annual independent assessment of the performance of individual Permanent Secretaries, and to make recommendations to the Prime Minister on the consolidated and non-consolidated pay awards for individuals. As for other members of the SCS, the highest performing Permanent Secretaries (those assessed ‘Exceeding’ or ‘High Performing’) are eligible for a non-consolidated performance related payment.

4. The PSRC considers Permanent Secretary performance on the basis of a wide range of robust evidence and feedback, including from the relevant Secretary of State/Minister and Lead Non Executive Director and a variety of business performance metrics. The maximum level of non-consolidated performance related pay available for Permanent Secretaries is £17,500. The Prime Minister approves PSRC’s recommendations for consolidated base pay and non-consolidated performance pay.

Pay award

PSRC approach to Permanent Secretary pay

5. In 2018/19, PSRC agreed on a set of principles which would deliver a more systematic approach to Permanent Secretary pay in the future. These principles remain consistent with current SSRB recommendations and have been applied again in subsequent years, including 2023/24. The principles are:

• To appoint new Permanent Secretaries at, or close to, the minimum of the relevant pay tier;
• After a qualifying period (in post for the duration of one PRSC cycle), and where funds are available to do so, to reward the development of skills, capability and experience through pay progression, moving people more quickly towards the mid-point of their tier, with a focus on those on the lower quartile of their pay tier;
• To take opportunities to address anomalies should they arise; and
• To reward the strongest performance with non-consolidated awards.

2024/25 award

1. For 2024/25 the Government took the decision to accept the SSRB’s recommendation of a 5% consolidated increase for all eligible members of the SCS. PSRC agreed to mirror this for eligible Permanent Secretaries. They also agreed to increase the pay band minimum by £1,000 in line with other SCS grades. As such, the Permanent Secretary tiers (within the band range) with effect from 1 April 2024 are:

• Tier 1 - £185,000 - £200,000
• Tier 2 - £170,000 - £185,000
• Tier 3 - £153,000 - £170,000

2. The Permanent Secretary Remuneration Committee (PSRC) also noted that applying this year’s pay award meant that seven Permanent Secretaries’ salaries would exceed the pay band maximum if fully consolidated. As such, some or all of the award for the seven was paid as a non-consolidated, non-pensionable lump sum, with salaries capped at £200,000. Table 1 sets out, in £5,000 bands, the salaries of Permanent Secretaries within the tiers (as at 1 April 2024). The top band (£195,000 - £200,000) includes the seven Permanent Secretaries impacted by the current pay band maximum.

Table 1: Permanent Secretary salaries by tier, in £5,000 bands

Salary bands (£000) based on salaries at 01.04.24	Number of Permanent Secretaries in the Salary Band
195 - 200	9
190 - 195	4
185 - 190	3
180 - 185	8
175 - 180	3
170 - 175	2
165 - 170	1
160 - 165	7

*Includes Permanent Secretaries in post on 01.04.24 in Tiers 1 - 3

Table 2: Permanent Secretary performance ratings over the last 3 years: 2019/20 to 2023/24

Rating	2019/20 distribution	2020/21 distribution	2021/22 distribution
Top	32%	34%	0%
Achieving	68%	66%	100%
Low	0%	0%	0%

Table 3: Permanent Secretary performance ratings: 2022/23 and 2023/24 (revised rating structure)

Rating	2022/23 distribution	2023/24 distribution (numbers rounded to the nearest whole)
Exceeding	12%	7%
High Performing	30%	27%
Achieving	58%	67%
Low	0%	0%

Tier ranges

3. The Permanent Secretary pay band spans £153,000 to £200,000. Roles are assigned to tiers within the pay band: Tier 3 includes Second Permanent Secretaries and a handful of other smaller roles; Tier 2 where most Head of Department roles sit; and Tier 1 which typically includes roles in the biggest and most complex departments.

4. There have been minimal changes to the tiers over the years: in April 2017 when the pay band (and pay Tier 3) minimum was increased from £142,000 to £150,000 to align with Treasury senior pay control limits; in April 2018 when PSRC increased the Tier 2 minimum from £160,000 to £162,500; and, more recently, in September 2023 and July 2024, when PSRC increased the pay band minimum (to £152,000 then £153,000) to reflect the Senior Salaries Review Body’s proposals to increase the minima of all SCS pay bands. No changes to the pay band maximum have been made since 2010, the impact of which is illustrated in paragraph 7 and Table 1.

5. For a number of specialist Permanent Secretary roles, their pay sits outside the tiers and attracts a pay premium. 

6. The pay tiers for Permanent Secretaries and where each role sits is set out in table 3:

Table 3: Permanent Secretary pay structure as at 1 April 2024

Tier and salary	Roles in the tier
Tier 1 £185,000 to £200,000	HM Treasury Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office Ministry of Defence Dept Work & Pensions Home Office Ministry of Justice HM Revenue & Customs National Security Adviser Dept Health & Social Care
Tier 2 £170,000 to £185,000	Dept Transport Dept Environment Food & Rural Affairs Govt Legal Dept Min for Housing, Communities and Local Govt[footnote 6]  Dept Education Secret Intelligence Services Security Service Govt Communications HQ Dept Business & Trade Dept Energy Security & Net Zero Scottish Govt Dept Science, Innovation & Technology Welsh Govt
Tier 3 £153,000 to £170,000	First Permanent Secretaries Northern Ireland Office Dept Digital Culture Media & Sport Office National Statistics Second Permanent Secretaries HM Revenue & Customs Dept for Health & Social Care HM Treasury (3 roles) Dept Environment Food & Rural Affairs Ministry of Defence (2 roles) Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office Dept for Transport Cabinet Office - Joint Intelligence Committee Home Office Dept Energy Security & Net Zero
Specialists and other roles not assigned to these tiers:	Cabinet Secretary Civil Service Chief Operating Officer Director of Public Prosecutions Chief Medical Officer Government Chief Scientific Adviser Chief Executive UKHSA Government Chief Trade Negotiation Adviser First Parliamentary Counsel DG, National Crime Agency CEO, Defence, Equipment & Support

Annex E - The Government commercial organisation

1. The Government Commercial Organisation (GCO) was established in 2017 to address capability issues within the senior commercial population in central government and enable government departments to deliver their aims at the best value for the taxpayer.

2. Serving as a single employer of all senior commercial experts in central government, the GCO is able to offer unique market-aligned terms and conditions. This has enabled the successful attraction and retention of experienced commercial specialists through a coordinated recruitment approach, compelling development and talent offer, competitive reward package and clearer access to a commercial career path.

3. The GCO comprises Commercial Leads (Grade 7), Associate Commercial Specialists (Grade 6), Commercial Specialists (SCS1) and Senior Commercial Specialists (SCS2/3). It has grown from 341 employees in 2018 to 1,649 in 2024^{[footnote 7]}.

4. There are 234 Senior Civil Servants (Commercial Specialists and Senior Commercial Specialists) in the GCO. This represents 14% of the total GCO population.

Table 1: Number of Senior Civil Servants by grade and terms

Position	Terms	Number of Employees
Commercial Specialist (SCS1)	Civil Service equivalent terms	58
Senior Commercial Specialist (SCS2)	Civil Service equivalent terms	9
Senior Commercial Specialist (SCS3)	Civil Service equivalent terms	<10
Commercial Specialist (SCS1 equivalent)	GCO terms	122
Senior Commercial Specialist (SCS2 equivalent)	GCO terms	43
Senior Commercial Specialist (SCS3 equivalent)	GCO terms	<10
Total	-	234

5. GCO employees take GCO terms and conditions or Civil Service equivalent terms and conditions depending on their entry route and performance at the Assessment & Development Centre.

6. Employment on GCO terms and conditions requires:

a. Recruitment from the external market, or;

b. Recruitment from the internal market and an “A” at the Assessment & Development Centre; or,

c. Transition in line with the Cabinet Office Statement of Practice (COSOP) from the internal market and an “A” at Assessment & Development Centre.

7. 71% of SCS in the GCO are on GCO terms and conditions, with a significant proportion of these joining from the external market.

2024 Pay Award - Senior Civil Servants

8. At the time of writing (September 2024) the GCO has yet to implement the SCS 2024/25 pay award. Implementation is expected in November 2024.

9. Proposals, subject to Permanent Secretary approval, align with the recommended approach outlined in the SSRB’s 2024 report and accepted by Government. Specifically:

• to apply a 5% blanket increase to base salaries to eligible employees, backdated to 1 April 2024;
• to amend the Civil Service equivalent pay band minima in line with the SSRB recommendations.

10. In addition, the widths of the GCO terms pay bands will be reduced by increasing the pay band minima by £2,000 and the pay band maxima by £1,000.

11. Reducing pay band widths forms part of a wider strategy to reduce gender and ethnicity pay gaps in the GCO as it helps to lessen pay variation.

12. GCO employees on Civil Service equivalent terms are eligible for non-consolidated end of year performance awards, the values of which are determined through the pay award process.

13. Effective 1 April 2023, the GCO updated its Performance Management Policy to include an organisational scorecard to encourage and recognise collective departmental achievement, as well as a wider range of individual performance markings.

14. Therefore, it is proposed that employees on Civil Service equivalent terms who received an “outstanding”, “excellent” or “great” performance rating at the end of the performance year will receive a non-consolidated performance award, the values for which are still to be confirmed.

15. GCO employees on GCO terms and conditions have a separate arrangement with the ability to receive Performance Related Pay (PRP). Commercial Specialists and Senior Commercial Specialists are eligible to receive up to 20% of their base salary as a non-consolidated Performance Related Payment.

16. Up to 5% of the 15% or 20% is determined through collective performance against the organisational scorecard, and the remainder is based on an evaluation of individual performance against stretching objectives at the employee’s end of year review.

Future Pay Priorities

17. The GCO published its Reward Strategy (2023-2026) in August 2023 following approval by the GCO Remuneration Committee.

18. Priorities for the next twelve months include:

a. Implementing an offer framework to improve the consistency of salary offers on appointment between internally appointed Civil Servants and externally appointed candidates.

b. Enabling Additional Voluntary Contribution via payroll for the GCO terms Legal & General pension scheme.

Annex F - Accelerated development schemes and Fast Stream

Accelerated Development Schemes

1. Our Accelerated Development Schemes (Future Leaders Scheme (FLS), Senior Leaders Scheme (SLS) and the Directors Leadership Programme aim to support the development of a diverse talent cadre to the most senior and critical roles in the Civil Service. The schemes equip high-potential individuals with the skills, knowledge and networks to realise their full potential.

FLS - 2023	Female	Disability	Ethnicity	LGBO
Benchmark: All civil servants at G6/7[footnote 8]	50%	13%	13%	7%
Stage One Successful	56%	40%	29%	13%
Stage Two Successful	57%	36%	25%	13%

SLS - 2023	Female	Disability	Ethnicity	LGBO
Benchmark: All civil servants at SCS1[footnote 9]	51%	9%	9%	6%
Stage One Successful	55%	16%	18%	9%
Stage Two Successful	50%	25%	21%	9%

DLP - 2023	Female	Disability	Ethnicity	LGBO
Benchmark: All civil servants at SCS[footnote 10]	49%	8%	9%	6%
Intake	51%	8%	8%	6%

Fast Stream

2. Fast Streamers make a huge and valuable contribution to the delivery of public services in the UK. As part of our commitment to ensure the Fast Stream remains attractive to potential candidates and relevant to the Civil Service we delivered a new pay and grading framework in 2023 and in September 2024 we implemented a reformed programme design and purpose. From September 2024, the Fast Stream’s primary purpose is that of a leadership and management development programme, serving the professions/functions with the aim of developing individuals to take on Grade 7 level roles.

3. Fast Stream starting pay is £31,186 (National) or £33,681 (London). This is slightly below the current median for graduate schemes at £32,000 in 2023 (ISE) and is below the median salary of Times Top 100 (TT100) graduate employers at £34,000 (High Fliers 2024). Other public sector graduate schemes starting salaries vary between £26,400 - £36,000

4. The Civil Service Fast Stream is the government’s flagship talent development programme. While the primary purpose is to provide high calibre Grade 7s, the Fast Stream is also part of the diverse pipeline of talent to the SCS and the best available evidence suggests that just over 16% of existing SCS participated in the Fast Stream either on entry to the Civil Service or in subsequent years^{[footnote 11]}.

5. The Fast Stream comprises 15 schemes managed by the Fast Stream and Emerging Talent (FSET) team which sits in the Government People Group in the Cabinet Office. Schemes currently support and manage approximately 2000 Fast Streamers posted across 27 government departments and 14 professions, expanding to 17 schemes across 16 professions in 2025.

6. The Fast Stream is highly regarded by external audiences. It currently holds the number two position in the Times Top 100 Graduate Employer list, and has been in the top two for the last eight years, and in the number one position for four of those. Internally, the Fast Stream is a valuable, flexible pool of high-calibre trainees who work in roles at HEO, SEO and, on exit, Grade 7 level.

7. In 2024 the Fast Stream received 44,362 applications, and made 986 job offers. This is a decrease of 9% from 2022 (1,084); which is a reflection of departmental demand (bids), and not candidate quality.

8. Attrition from the Fast Stream is a complex picture as individuals may leave to take up a role in the department they are posted to or elsewhere in the Civil Service – taking roles from HEO to Grade 7. They do this for a number of reasons, and it is not a reflection of their capability. A smaller proportion leave the Civil Service. In 2020 the Civil Service recruited 496 centrally managed Fast Streamers whose schemes have now been completed. During this period 90.5% of Fast Streamers remained in the Civil Service with 9.5% leaving the Civil Service altogether.

9. As Fast Stream graduates exit the scheme and move to different departments, we are currently unable to track long-term impact and onward progression to the SCS. We are in the process of developing a detailed evaluation strategy and workplan for 2025-2030 for Fast Stream. The intention is to refine and operationalise this after extensive stakeholder consultation later this year. A key focus of this work will be how we define and measure the impact of the Fast Stream programme and the long-term development trajectory of Fast Streamers.

Annex G  - SCS Data

Table 1: SCS headcount by payband and year (2010-2024)

Year	Quarter	Deputy Director	Deputy Director (PB1A)	Director	Director General	Perm. Sec.	Other	All SCS
2010	Q1	3,140	185	795	190	35	10	4,355
2010	Q1 Pay	3,095	175	750	170	-	-	4,190
2011	Q1	2,785	205	725	155	35	10	3,910
2011	Q1 Pay	2,795	190	680	135	-	-	3,800
2012	Q1	2,640	115	685	140	30	5	3,615
2012	Q1 Pay	2,590	80	650	130	-	-	3,450
2013	Q1	2,685	120	700	145	35	10	3,695
2013	Q1 Pay	2,580	90	675	140	-	-	3,480
2014	Q1	2,790	105	695	145	40	30	3,800
2014	Q1 Pay	2,780	105	690	140	-	-	3,715
2015	Q1	2,910	105	745	150	35	25	3,975
2015	Q1 Pay	2,870	100	740	150	-	-	3,860
2016	Q1	3,010	125	765	140	40	10	4,085
2016	Q1 Pay	2,970	95	760	135	-	-	3,965
2017	Q1	3,160	115	815	130	40	5	4,265
2017	Q1 Pay	3,085	95	780	130	-	-	4,090
2018	Q1	3,455	85	860	155	40	..	4,605
2018	Q1 Pay	3,400	75	820	150	-	-	4,445
2019	Q1	3,885	50	925	165	35	..	5,065
2019	Q1 Pay	3,860	50	920	165	-	-	5,000
2020	Q1	4,190	40	1,005	175	35	..	5,445
2020	Q1 Pay	4,190	40	1,005	175	-	-	5,410
2021	Q1	4,790	45	1,080	175	45	..	6,135
2021	Q1 Pay	4,790	45	1,080	175	-	..	6,090
2022	Q1	5,050	40	1,175	180	45	-	6,490
2022	Q1 Pay	5,050	40	1,175	180	-	-	6,445
2023	Q1	4,990	30	1,230	180	45	-	6,475
2023	Q1 Pay	4,990	30	1,230	180	-	-	6,430
2024	Q1	5,285	25	1,205	175	50	-	6,740
2024	Q1 Pay	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Notes:

”..” suppressed due to small numbers

”-“ not available

Figures are rounded to the nearest 5

Q1 includes all SCS still in post as at 31st March, or 1st April from 2019 onwards

Q1 pay includes all SCS in scope for the SSRB pay award remit as at 1st April

Q1 pay collections are currently still in progress for 2024. Q1 pay figures are thus only available up to 1st April 2023. Provisional Q1 workforce figures are provided, but are not yet finalised and will need to be updated when Q1 pay collections are completed.

Source: SCS database, Cabinet Office

Table 2: SCS FTE by payband and year (2010-2024)

Year	Quarter	Deputy Director	Deputy Director (PB1A)	Director	Director General	Perm. Sec.	Other	All SCS
2010	Q1	3,085	180	790	185	35	10	4,290
2010	Q1 Pay	3,045	175	745	165	-	-	4,125
2011	Q1	2,730	205	715	155	35	10	3,845
2011	Q1 Pay	2,740	190	670	135	-	-	3,735
2012	Q1	2,590	110	675	140	30	5	3,550
2012	Q1 Pay	2,540	75	640	130	-	-	3,385
2013	Q1	2,625	120	685	145	35	10	3,620
2013	Q1 Pay	2,525	85	660	135	-	-	3,410
2014	Q1	2,730	105	685	140	40	30	3,725
2014	Q1 Pay	2,715	105	675	140	-	-	3,635
2015	Q1	2,840	105	730	150	35	25	3,890
2015	Q1 Pay	2,800	100	725	150	-	-	3,775
2016	Q1	2,935	125	750	135	40	10	3,990
2016	Q1 Pay	2,900	95	745	135	-	-	3,875
2017	Q1	3,080	110	800	130	40	5	4,170
2017	Q1 Pay	3,010	95	765	130	-	-	4,000
2018	Q1	3,370	85	845	150	40	..	4,490
2018	Q1 Pay	3,315	70	805	145	-	-	4,335
2019	Q1	3,785	45	905	165	35	..	4,940
2019	Q1 Pay	3,760	45	900	165	-	-	4,870
2020	Q1	4,075	40	980	170	35	..	5,300
2020	Q1 Pay	4,075	40	980	170	-	-	5,265
2021	Q1	4,670	45	1,055	170	45	..	5,985
2021	Q1 Pay	4,670	45	1,055	170	-	-	5,940
2022	Q1	4,915	40	1,145	180	45	-	6,325
2022	Q1 Pay	4,915	40	1,145	180	-	-	6,275
2023	Q1	4,855	30	1,200	175	45	-	6,300
2023	Q1 Pay	4,855	30	1,200	175	-	-	6,255
2024	Q1	5,145	25	1,175	170	50	-	6,565
2024	Q1 Pay	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Notes:

”..” suppressed due to small numbers

”-“ not available

Figures are rounded to the nearest 5

Q1 includes all SCS still in post as at 31st March, or 1st April from 2019 onwards

Q1 pay includes all SCS in scope for the SSRB pay award remit.

Q1 pay collections are currently still in progress for 2024. Q1 pay figures are thus only available up to 1st April 2023. Provisional Q1 workforce figures are provided, but are not yet finalised and will need to be updated when Q1 pay collections are completed.

Source: SCS database, Cabinet Office

Table 3: SCS median salary by payband and year (2010-2023)

Year	Deputy Director	Deputy Director (PB1A)	Director	Director General
2010	£73,400	£84,100	£100,000	£133,000
2011	£73,100	£83,200	£100,000	£133,000
2012	£73,000	£77,800	£97,900	£131,000
2013	£73,000	£77,200	£96,900	£132,500
2014	£74,000	£78,500	£96,000	£133,500
2015	£74,800	£78,500	£96,000	£132,600
2016	£75,500	£78,700	£98,800	£135,900
2017	£75,900	£81,200	£99,900	£134,000
2018	£76,200	£80,000	£99,800	£134,500
2019	£76,700	£80,000	£102,500	£137,300
2020	£78,500	£84,700	£103,500	£138,600
2021	£77,900	£84,700	£102,900	£135,800
2022	£79,300	£82,800	£103,500	£138,500
2023	£84,500	£87,400	£109,600	£145,600

Notes:

Salary figures are calculated on a full time equivalent basis, and are for those SCS in scope for the SSRB pay award remit as at 1st April

Figures are rounded to the nearest £100

Source: SCS database, Cabinet Office

Table 4: SCS mean salary by pay band and year (2010-2023)

Year	Deputy Director	Deputy Director (PB1A)	Director	Director General
2010	£74,700	£85,700	£104,400	£140,500
2011	£74,400	£85,300	£104,100	£142,400
2012	£74,400	£82,100	£102,900	£138,100
2013	£74,800	£82,500	£102,900	£135,800
2014	£76,200	£82,000	£102,700	£137,900
2015	£77,300	£81,800	£104,000	£137,400
2016	£78,200	£82,900	£106,800	£141,100
2017	£78,800	£85,500	£107,700	£139,900
2018	£79,600	£84,000	£107,900	£142,300
2019	£80,700	£83,800	£109,800	£143,800
2020	£82,100	£86,800	£110,600	£146,800
2021	£81,200	£85,600	£110,000	£144,300
2022	£82,800	£84,100	£111,200	£147,300
2023	£87,400	£89,600	£117,200	£155,200

Notes:

Salary figures are calculated on a full time equivalent basis, and are for those SCS in scope for the SSRB pay award remit as at 1st April

Figures are rounded to the nearest £100

Source: SCS database, Cabinet Office

Table 5: SCS median real terms salary by pay band and year, adjusted for inflation (CPIH) to April 2023 equivalents (2010-2023)

Year	Deputy Director	Deputy Director (PB1A)	Director	Director General
2010	£104,800	£120,000	£142,700	£189,800
2011	£100,500	£114,400	£137,500	£182,900
2012	£97,600	£104,100	£131,000	£175,300
2013	£95,600	£101,100	£126,900	£173,500
2014	£95,400	£101,100	£123,600	£171,900
2015	£96,000	£100,800	£123,200	£170,300
2016	£96,300	£100,400	£126,100	£173,300
2017	£94,400	£101,000	£124,200	£166,500
2018	£92,700	£97,300	£121,400	£163,600
2019	£91,400	£95,400	£122,200	£163,700
2020	£92,700	£100,100	£122,300	£163,800
2021	£90,500	£98,400	£119,600	£157,800
2022	£85,400	£89,200	£111,600	£149,300
2023	£84,500	£87,400	£109,600	£145,600

Notes:

Salary figures are the ‘real’ value (adjusted for inflation to April 2023 equivalents), are calculated on a full time equivalent basis, and are for those SCS in scope for the SSRB pay award remit as at 1st April in each year

Figures are rounded to the nearest £100

Source:

SCS database, Cabinet Office

Inflation adjustment uses ONS CPIH indicators

Table 6: Median base salary for SCS and public and private sector equivalents by grade 2023

Category	Deputy Director (PB1)	Deputy Director (PB1A)	Director (PB2)	Director General (PB3)
Civil Service	£84,500	£87,400	£109,600	£145,600
Public	£97,400	£115,400	£164,600	-
Private	£131,200	£155,400	£225,000	-

Notes:

Civil Service Salary figures are calculated on a full time equivalent basis, and are for those SCS in scope for the SSRB pay award remit as at 1st April 2023

Public and Private Sector figures come from the Korn Ferry reward benchmarking report 2023 (with figures as of October 2022)

Figures are rounded to the nearest £100

Source:

SCS database, Cabinet Office

Korn Ferry reward benchmarking report 2023

Table 7: SCS turnover, departmental turnover and resignation by payband, department and year (2021-2024)

Payband	Resignations 2021/22	Resignations 2022/23	Resignations 2023/24 2	Turnover 2021/22	Turnover 2022/23	Turnover 2023/24 2	Departmental Turnover ¹ 2021/22	Departmental Turnover ¹ 2022/23	Departmental Turnover ¹
2023/24 2
Deputy Director	4.6%	5.9%	4.1%	12.6%	14.7%	10.9%	21.7%	27.4%	15.1%
Dep. Dir. (1A)	..	..	..	15.7%	20.7%	..	28.8%	20.7%	..
Director	6.6%	5.7%	4.9%	11.9%	12.7%	10.9%	21.8%	29.1%	16.8%
Director General	6.2%	7.8%	5.1%	11.9%	13.3%	11.8%	19.8%	27.2%	17.4%
Overall	4.9%	5.9%	4.2%	12.4%	14.3%	10.9%	21.7%	27.7%	15.5%

Department	Resignations 2021/22	Resignations 2022/23	Resignations 2023/24 2	Turnover 2021/22	Turnover 2022/23	Turnover 2023/24 2	Departmental Turnover 2021/22	Departmental Turnover 2022/23	Departmental Turnover
2023/24 2
BEIS¹	3.8%	-	-	9.7%	-	-	18.3%	-	-
CO	6.1%	7.8%	7.8%	10.3%	15.0%	13.3%	27.8%	29.0%	22.5%
DBT	-	-	2.7%	-	-	9.8%	-	-	14.9%
DCMS¹	6.9%	5.3%	9.8%	11.3%	9.7%	12.6%	21.7%	-	-
DEFRA	6.9%	5.8%	5.1%	13.0%	19.8%	12.4%	22.3%	26.4%	14.1%
DESNZ	-	-	3.1%	-	-	4.6%	-	-	7.2%
DfE	6.9%	4.7%	5.2%	12.8%	11.1%	11.8%	19.8%	17.5%	15.6%
DfT	2.4%	5.7%	3.1%	4.4%	7.5%	7.6%	11.1%	10.3%	13.1%
DHSC¹	11.3%	12.1%	6.6%	20.9%	29.1%	15.2%	-	36.8%	19.0%
DIT¹	3.3%	-	-	18.0%	-	-	24.6%	-	-
MHCLG[footnote 12]	3.7%	8.1%	3.2%	6.8%	15.6%	10.7%	12.9%	23.7%	23.0%
DSIT	-	-	3.6%	-	-	5.1%	-	-	15.3%
DWP	3.4%	2.4%	3.3%	12.6%	10.9%	12.5%	18.1%	15.7%	14.7%
FCDO3	2.9%	6.5%	..	10.8%	13.1%	3.7%	18.6%	18.6%	9.5%
HMRC	3.4%	4.5%	2.3%	11.1%	13.5%	6.1%	14.3%	15.9%	9.1%
HMT	..	7.2%	2.8%	6.6%	13.2%	7.9%	13.7%	24.2%	16.9%
HO	4.5%	4.2%	3.4%	15.5%	18.4%	13.5%	24.0%	26.6%	17.9%
MoD	3.8%	5.9%	5.6%	10.1%	13.1%	11.6%	15.9%	17.6%	16.4%
MoJ	3.5%	3.1%	1.6%	14.8%	12.9%	10.5%	23.5%	19.1%	14.9%
SG	1.7%	2.9%	2.1%	12.5%	9.2%	12.0%	16.7%	9.5%	13.8%
WG	2.7%	..	..	10.1%	5.2%	9.6%	11.2%	7.8%	9.6%
Other	6.3%	7.2%	5.9%	14.3%	13.7%	13.5%	17.0%	17.1%	16.1%
Overall	4.9%	5.9%	4.2%	12.4%	14.3%	10.9%	21.7%	27.7%	15.5%

Definitions:

Resignation rate includes all centrally managed SCS who resigned in the specified year  

Turnover rate includes all moves out of the centrally managed SCS over the specified year, including secondments, movements to an ‘SCS level’ role outside the centrally managed SCS (e.g. the diplomatic service), end of temporary promotion, etc

Departmental turnover rate includes moves between departments or their executive agencies / crown NDPBs within the year, in addition to moves included under turnover rate

Further guidance on turnover calculations

Notes:

Data is revised for each collection year. To ensure all leavers are counted, a small number of leavers from a previous year will be included in a more recent collection year

1: Around half of all moves between departments in 2021/22 and 2022/23 occurred due to machinery of government changes in DHSC and BEIS / DIT / DCMS respectively. These figures should be interpreted with caution as they may not represent the underlying rate

2: Figures for resignations, turnover, and departmental turnover in 2023/24 include data for the SCS from Q1 2024 which is provisional only and will need to be updated when Q1 2024 data is finalised.

3: A substantial proportion of the senior workforce at FCDO are SCS level rather than part of the centrally managed SCS (as shown in these figures)

”..” suppressed due to small numbers

”-“ not available                                                                                                            

Source:

SCS database, Cabinet Office

Table 8: SCS turnover, departmental turnover and resignation by profession (2023/24)

Profession	Resignations ¹ 2023/24	Turnover ¹ 2023/24	Departmental Turnover ¹ 2023/24
Commercial	5.8%	12.7%	19.1%
Communication	14.3%	24.3%	29.4%
Corporate Finance	..	..	..
Counter-Fraud	..	..	..
DDAT	8.2%	13.0%	17.4%
Economic	5.9%	10.2%	13.6%
Finance	5.4%	12.7%	18.1%
Geography	..	..	..
Human Resources	5.6%	11.1%	15.8%
IET	..	..	..
Intelligence Analysis	..	..	25.5%
Internal Audit	..	18.8%	18.8%
International Trade	..	9.0%	11.0%
KIM	..	..	..
Legal	3.8%	12.1%	13.6%
Medical	10.5%	15.0%	16.5%
Operational Delivery	2.7%	11.5%	14.9%
Operational Research	..	..	..
Planning	..	..	39.0%
Policy	3.6%	9.2%	15.8%
Project Delivery	4.1%	8.2%	11.9%
Property	..	15.7%	20.4%
Psychology	..	..	..
Science And Engineering	..	9.2%	11.5%
Security	..	..	15.5%
Social Research	..	..	36.4%
Statistics	..	9.6%	12.8%
Tax	..	8.4%	8.4%
Veterinary	..	..	..
Other	4.2%	10.1%	14.3%
Unknown	2.5%	11.0%	15.4%
Overall	4.2%	10.9%	15.5%

Definitions:

Resignation rate includes all centrally managed SCS who resigned in the specified year  

Turnover rate includes all moves out of the centrally managed SCS over the specified year, including secondments, movements to an ‘SCS level’ role outside the centrally managed SCS (e.g. the diplomatic service), end of temporary promotion, etc

Departmental turnover rate includes moves between departments or their executive agencies / crown NDPBs within the year, in addition to moves included under turnover rate

Further guidance on turnover calculations

Notes:

Data is revised for each collection year. To ensure all leavers are counted, a small number of leavers from a previous year will be included in a more recent collection year

¹ Figures for resignations, turnover, and departmental turnover in 2023/24 include data for the SCS from Q1 2024 which is provisional only and will need to be updated when Q1 2024 data is finalised.

.

”..” suppressed due to small numbers

”-“ not available                                                                                                            

Source:

SCS database, Cabinet Office

Accelerated Development Schemes

Future Leaders Scheme (FLS)

Purpose - FLS is a development programme aimed at the top 1% of G6/G7 staff across the Civil Service (including Welsh and Scottish Governments) and Arms Lengths Bodies (ALBs), who are considered to have the potential to reach SCS grades and, as such, are likely to be future senior leaders in the Civil Service.

Key facts and figures:

FLS started in 2013 with 86 participants. The number of participants increased year on year to 2017, where there were 421 participants. Since then, intake has consistently been between 400 and 420, achieving the aim of selecting 1% of the G6/G7 cadre.

On average, the scheme receives around 2,500 applications per year.

• Key 2022 FLS Intake Data
  • 417 successful participants
  • 59% female participants (above G6/G7 CS average of 49.8%)
  • 32% participants with a recorded disability (above G6/G7 CS average of 12.8%)
  • 18% participants from an ethnic minority background (above G6/G7 CS average of 13.2%)
  • 15% participants declared LGBO (above G6/G7 CS average 7.0%)
  • 26% of participants Low SEB (Self-reported)
• The 2022 intake has 25^{[footnote 13]} different functions and professions represented. The most common are:
• Policy - 41%
• Operational Delivery - 9%
• Government Legal Service - 7%
• Digital, Data and Technology - 5%
• Project Delivery - 4%
• Science and Engineering - 4%
• Human Resources - 3%

Promotion and resignation rates are not routinely monitored, with the latter only recorded if a participant or department informs CS Talent that they have left the civil service. Mechanisms to improve monitoring and evaluation of this nature will be introduced as part of FLS reform over the next 18-24 months.

The most recent survey was conducted in 2019 for the 2017 intake, which showed:

• Promotion rates to SCS within 1 year of completing FLS was 30%^{[footnote 14]}, compared to a significantly lower promotion rate for non-FLS graduates of 2.8%^{[footnote 15]}.
• Resignation rate of FLS graduates for the cohort was 2.6%, compared to a slightly higher resignation rate of 2.8% across the wider G6/G7 community.

META

Purpose - META is offered as a bespoke, additional programme for any FLS participant who identifies as coming from an ethnic minority background.

Key facts and figures:

META launched in 2017 with 35 participants. Intake size has steadily increased year-on-year, with the current 2022^{[footnote 16]} intake initially comprising 69^{[footnote 17]} participants.

• The 2022 intake includes:
  • 28.9% female participants (average of 49.8%)
  • 11.5% have stated no gender or non-binary
  • 15.9% participants with a recorded disability (G6/G7 average of 12.8%)
  • 14.4% participants have not declared or preferred not to say
  • 11.5% participants declared LGBO (G6/G7 average 7.0%)
  • 13.0% participants have not declared or preferred not to say
• The 2022 intake includes representatives from 18 departments/Arms Length Bodies and 13 professions. The top six professions represented amongst the 2022 intake are:
  • Policy: 28.9%
  • Economic: 10.1%
  • Government Legal Service: 7.2%
  • Finance: 2.8%
  • Science and Engineering: 2.8%
  • Tax: 2.8

A continued upward trend in participation, and good representation across protected characteristics, departments and professions of the META 2022 initial intake.

Promotion and resignation rates are not routinely monitored. Mechanisms to improve monitoring and evaluation of this nature will be introduced as part of FLS/META/DELTA reform over the next 18-24 months.

DELTA

Purpose - DELTA is offered as a bespoke, additional programme for any FLS participant who has a disability and/or long-term health condition.

Key facts and figures:

DELTA launched in 2019 with 28 participants, and has grown year-on-year with 42 participants in 2020, 52 participants in 2021 and 76 participants currently completing the programme on the 2022 intake^{[footnote 18]}.

• The 2022 intake includes:
  • 64.9% female participants (G6/G7 average 49.8%)
  • 9.2% participants from an ethnic minority background (G6/G7 average of 13.2%)^{[footnote 19]}
  • 23.7% participants declared LGBO (G6/G7 average 7.0%)
• The 2022 intake includes representatives from 25 departments/Arms Length Bodies and 14 professions. The top five professions represented amongst the 2021 intake are:
  • Policy: 39.2%
  • Operational Delivery: 9.2%
  • Finance: 7.9%
  • Project Delivery: 6.6%
  • Science & Engineering: 6.6%

Early indications suggest a continued upward trend in participation, with 19.5% of participants eligible for the 2023 intake of the DELTA programme (based on those who recorded a disability or long term health condition during the selection process). This is an increase of 2.4% from 2022.

Promotion and resignation rates are not routinely monitored. Mechanisms to improve monitoring and evaluation of this nature will be introduced as part of FLS/META/DELTA reform over the next 18-24 months.

Senior Leaders Scheme (SLS)

Purpose - Senior Leaders Scheme (SLS) is an accelerated development scheme aimed at the top 3% of Deputy Directors across government who have the potential to progress in the SCS.

Key facts and figures:

SLS started in 2012 with 48 participants. With 37 cohorts to date across ten years, participant numbers remained steady until 2017 and 2018 when the intake numbers doubled to 94 and 96 respectively. For the 2019 and 2020 intakes the number of participants increased again to 110, split in five cohorts for each year group. For 2022, there are 105 participants, split across five cohorts.

• The 2022 intake includes:
  • 56% female participants (above SCS average of 50.8%24);
  • 16% participants with a declared disability (above SCS average of 8.5%24)
  • 12% participants from an ethnic minority background (above SCS average of 9.4%24)
  • 11% participants declared LGBO (above the SCS average of 6.2%24)
• There are 23 departments and 16 Functions and Professions represented in the 2022 cohort. They include:
  • Policy: 46%
  • Operational delivery: 9.8%
  • Project delivery: 5.9%
  • Government Legal: 5.5%
  • Government finance: 4.7%
  • Digital, data & technology: 3.6%
  • Human Resources: 3.8%
  • Commercial: 2.7%
  • Economics: 2.7%
  • Medical profession: 1.1%
  • Communication: 0.9%
  • Government Statistical service: 0.8%

Promotion and resignation rates are not routinely monitored, with the latter only recorded if a participant or department informs CS Talent that they have left the civil service. Mechanisms to improve monitoring and evaluation of this nature will be introduced as part of SLS reform over the next 18-24 months.

The most recent survey was conducted for the 2019 intake, from which 23 (21%) participants have been promoted to Director and 8 (7.1%) have resigned and informed CS Talent they have left the Civil Service.

Directors’ Leadership Scheme (DLP (successor to the High Potential Development Scheme (HPDS))

Purpose - The Directors’ Leadership Scheme (DLP) represents the completion of the first phase of Accelerated Development Scheme reform. The inaugural cohort commenced the programme in January 2023 and finished December 2023. The second cohort began October 2023 and will finish July 2024. DLP is a cross-Civil Service scheme aimed at accelerating the development of high potential Directors with the potential to progress to Permanent Secretary, Head of Function and Chief Executive level.

Key facts and figures:

The second  DLP cohort of 34 participants commenced their programme in October  2023.

• Cohort 2 (2023 intake) comprises:
  • 51% female participants (above SCS average of 50.8%24)
  • 8% participants from an ethnic minority background (below SCS average of 9.4%24)
  • 6% participants declared LGBO (similar to SCS average of 6.2%24)
  • 8% participants with a declared disability (similar to SCS average of 8.5%24)
• Representation of functions and professions in Cohort 2 are as follows:
  • Policy: 50%
  • Operational Delivery: 12%
  • Analysis: 6%
  • DDAT: 6%
  • Government Commercial Function: 6%
  • Human Resources: 6%
  • Commercial: 3%
  • Finance: 3%
  • Security: 3%
  • Intelligence Analysis: 3%

Since January 2023, 18% of participants from Cohort 1 and 2 have been promoted to DG level. This goes up to 20% if temporary appointments are included).^{[footnote 20]}

There were no withdrawals for Cohort 1 and none to date for Cohort 2.

1. Best practice suggests that the evaluation of performance distribution against any recommended bell curve should not be done where there are fewer than 300 individuals in scope of the review as any fewer may be affected by some anomalies. However, the size of the SCS cadre in departments means there is a need to balance this with the practicalities of the current system. Therefore we will align roughly with the size of the SCS3 cadre, for which the distribution which can be considered centrally. ↩

2. Details of current and historic Civil Service pension scheme ↩ ↩²

3. PQM Standards (PDF, 245KB) ↩

4. Actuarial Factors (PDF, 138KB) ↩

5. Previously named Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities (DLUHC) ↩

6. Data as at 16 September 2024 unless specified otherwise ↩

7. Civil Service Statistics, March 2024. ↩

8. Cabinet Office SCS database, April 2024. Figures for the SCS as at Q1 2024 are provisional only and will need to be updated when Q1 2024 data is finalised. ↩

9. Cabinet Office SCS database, April 2024. Figures for the SCS as at Q1 2024 are provisional only and will need to be updated when Q1 2024 data is finalised. ↩

10. Many of these individuals would have participated in a different model of the current Fast Stream scheme which has only existed in its current form since 2013. ↩

11. Previously named Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities (DLUHC) ↩

12. This figure excludes responses where ‘other’, ‘prefer not to say’ and ‘not known’ have been selected. ↩

13. Of those who responded to the May 2019 Survey combined with those who confirmed that had a promotion. ↩

14. ONS Civil Service Statistics, Cabinet Office SCS Database, information based on March 2017-March 2018 numbers of internal Civil Servants at Grades 6 & 7, substantively promoted to SCS roles. ↩

15. The 2022 intake were selected in 2022, and will complete FLS in early 2024 and complete META in Summer 2024 due to META starting later. ↩

16. Current cohort stands at 53, following review ahead of the start of the workshops in February as a large proportion have opted to defer to the next year. All data is based on the initial intake. ↩

17. 82 participants initially opted into the programme, although  6 have opted  to defer. ↩

18. Participants who are both from an ethnic minority background and have a disability and/or long-term health condition must choose between completing either META and DELTA hence a reduced number of participants from an ethnic minority background on DELTA. ↩

19. Cohort 1, concluded in December 2023 Cohort 2 concludes in July 2024. ↩