Civil Service Commission - Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25

The Civil Service Commission which regulates Civil Service appointments to provide assurance that they are made on merit after fair and open competition, has today published its Annual Report and Accounts for 2024-25.

In her foreword to the report, First Civil Service Commissioner, Baroness Gisela Stuart said:

“This report covers a significant year for the Commission, not least because of our constitutional role in upholding the principles of fairness, openness and merit in Civil Service appointments during a General Election period and a change of government.

“The integrity of our system depends on a permanent and impartial Civil Service – ready to serve the government of the day, whatever its political colour. The Commission exists to safeguard that principle and help the Civil Service bring in the skills needed to deliver for the country.

“In this reporting period, we also oversaw the appointment of the Cabinet Secretary through an open and competitive process, building on the approach started by my predecessors. This was a significant evolution in how senior appointments are made and in transparency about the process used for making this important appointment. I also chaired the appointment process for the Permanent Secretary in the Scottish Government, who leads the delivery of the devolved powers and duties in Scotland.

“To be an effective regulator, we must be proportionate, predictable and deliver at pace. We evolved our regulatory approach significantly this year, particularly using our audits of departments not simply to identify breaches but to drive improvements in recruitment practice across government. This is central to our philosophy as a regulator: one that supports departments to get it right and provides wider public assurance that appointments into the Civil Service are made on merit.

“We also conducted a cross-departmental review of the use of exceptions using delegated powers in July and August 2024, the post-election period. We were largely satisfied that departments were generally using exceptions appropriately – an important finding that supports our broader assurance function and helps maintain public confidence. We also reviewed our own processes for handling exceptions that require prior approval from the Commission and, as a result, we have increased transparency around use of exceptions.”

The annual report contains a range of statistics about the Commission’s work in regulating recruitment and hearing appeals from civil servants under the Civil Service Code including:

56,194 people were recruited through fair and open competition, down 38.5% from 91,351 in 2023-24
166 competitions were chaired by Civil Service Commissioners (down from 235 last year) with 11,744 applicants.
Where declared, women made up 30% of applicants in Commissioner-chaired competitions. There were more successful female candidates at later stages, making up 46% of shortlists and 41% of appointable candidates
Where declared, candidates who reported having a disability made up 9% of applicants, 7% of shortlists and 4% of appointable candidates in Commissioner-chaired competitions.
216 Recruitment Principles complaints were received, 183 were outside the Commission’s legal remit.
120 Civil Service Code appeals were received, all of which were outside the Commission’s legal remit.

Download the 2024 – 25 Annual report

Notes to Editors

Media enquiries about the work of the Commission to be sent to Maggie O’Boyle on 07880 740 627.
More information about the work of the Commission is available on the website www.civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk
You can follow the Commission on X @CivServComm and Linkedin
The Civil Service Commission was established as a statutory body in November 2010 under the provisions of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. The Commission is independent of Ministers and the Civil Service. It is responsible for upholding the requirement that recruitment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.
The Commission comprises senior figures from the private, public and third sectors. Civil Service Commissioners are appointed by the Crown for five-year non-renewable terms of office. Read Commissioners biographies.