Artificial Intelligence Security Institute
As a regulator we actively seek to understand how the changing world affects those we regulate. We are constructive, collaborative and solution oriented in the application of our regulatory remit to enable the Civil Service to attract and recruit the best of global talent.
In 2024 the AI Security Institute (AISI) came to us with a new challenge. It wanted to recruit the best people in the world to protect the public from risks posed by frontier AI developments. These are some of the most heavily recruited individuals in their fields and they have established expectations about the way in which they are recruited, for example, application to onboarding is normally carried out in one week.
These are the types of challenges we find most interesting, they encourage us to think deeply about where risk actually lies and how best to mitigate it. In line with our commitment to acting proportionately, predictably and at pace we worked closely with AISI to understand what it wanted to achieve, developing an approach to recruitment which enabled it to assess candidates at pace and in line with its own commitment to technical excellence.
Using the Recruitment Principles
The Commission’s Recruitment Principles are designed to ensure appointments are fair and open. However, they also recognise that, in exceptional circumstances, this may not be possible.
Section 12 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act allows the Civil Service Commission to ‘except’ appointments from fair and open competition where:
- An exception is justified by the needs of the Civil Service, or
- It enables participation in a government employment initiative.
Exceptions are, by definition, exceptional. But when used appropriately they are an important tool for departments to respond to urgent business needs and access highly specialist skills for a fixed period.
An enabling regulator
DSIT approached the Commission with a genuine recruitment challenge that made fair and open competition difficult. The business case to the Commission made clear that:
- The team needed to be set up and operate at pace to meet an urgent strategic goal.
- The roles required highly specialised AI and technical skills that could not be found across government.
To mitigate risks, AISI introduced robust assessment processes, including multiple technical and behavioural interviews. The CSC team worked with AISI to pilot a novel approach of ‘Class Approvals’. This enabled AISI to recruit a small number of individuals within specific parameters or ‘guardrails’ relating to the type of role and the way in which they were recruited, including technical and behavioural interviews. The Commission closely monitors the use of these Class Approvals to ensure that the conditions are met. AISI worked constructively with the Commission to ensure that regulatory oversight was maintained and this enabled the Commission to expand the pilot further. Key to this earned autonomy was regular engagement, reporting and monitoring.
By supporting AISI to strengthen its processes, improve reporting, and build confidence in how exceptions would be used, the Commission was able to increase DSIT’s exception allowance, enabling the organisation to recruit effectively while maintaining appropriate safeguards. One of these safeguards is transparency about the use of these types of appointments, including the publication of all exceptions approved by the Commission at Pay Band 2 and above.
Building on this successful pilot, the Commission has rolled this approach out with other organisations.
Jade Leung, Chief Technology Adviser of the AI Security Institute
“By working closely with the regulator responsible for fair and open competition, we were able to bring world-class AI specialists into one of the government's highest-priority programmes. With the Commission’s guidance and oversight, we devised a process that enabled us to compete successfully for highly technical, globally sought-after talent.”
Kate Owen, Chief Executive of the Civil Service Commission, said:
“Our work with AISI shows how the Commission can support departments to navigate complex recruitment challenges — not by lowering standards, but by applying the Recruitment Principles with judgement, flexibility and close collaboration. Early engagement meant we were able to help DSIT and AISI to deliver on a critical government priority and provide transparency and accountability to the public.”
For more information about exceptions
Appointments by Exception Pay Band 2 and above
We are looking to recruit four independent Civil Service Commissioners to join our board and chair recruitment panels for senior Civil Service roles.
We would like to encourage applications from right across the UK, and particularly from Scotland as we are looking for a link Commissioner for Scotland. We are also seeking a Commissioner with financial skills to chair our Audit and Risk Committee.
Commissioners work part time, typically 5-10 days per month.
For more information about these roles and details of open sessions for potential applicants, please take a look at the application pack.
The closing date is 3 February 2026.
By Kate Owen, Chief Executive, Civil Service Commission
As 2025 comes to an end, it’s a good moment to look back at what the Commission has been doing across our expanded areas of responsibility, and what the latest data is telling us about recruitment and conduct across the Civil Service.
Recruitment Principles: exceptions
Between January and November 2025, the Commission considered 442 exceptions to the Recruitment Principles. This is slightly lower than the 453 cases considered over the same period in 2024. As in previous years, a significant proportion of these cases related to senior roles: 176 (39.8%) were at or above SCS Pay Band 2, including 27 cases at Pay Band 3 or above. The overall profile is broadly consistent with last year, and helps us focus our conversations with departments on the appropriate and proportionate use of exceptions as part of broader Civil Service recruitment. Next year, we’ll be reporting on the follow up to the 2024 review of appointments made by exception.
Complaints and what they tell us
Complaints are an important part of how we provide public assurance and also understand how recruitment processes are working in practice. From January to November 2025, we responded to 269 out-of-scope recruitment complaints, up from 146 last year. Over the same period, we investigated 18 in-scope recruitment complaints, compared with 43 in 2024.
We also responded to 196 out-of-scope Civil Service Code complaints, an increase on the 134 received last year. As in 2024, there were no in-scope Code complaints investigated by the Commission. We published updated guidance on Code complaints on our website to help clarify who can bring complaints to us and what to expect.
We continue to use themes emerging from both Code complaints and recruitment complaints to help shape our guidance to potential complainants as well as to inform our training and engagement with departments.
Oversight of senior recruitment
Our independent Commissioners completed 220 Commissioner-chaired competitions between January and November 2025, compared with 133 over the same period last year. By personally overseeing senior recruitment, we provide independent assurance that these appointments are made fairly, openly and on merit - as well as reinforcing the importance of open competition in bringing in new external talent so the Civil Service has the skills needed to deliver the government’s agenda.
Using audits to support improvement
Our Recruitment Principles audit programme remains a central part of our assurance work. In 2024/25, we completed 71 departmental audits, 39 of which were full audits. Thirteen departments received a good rating, 20 were rated fair and six required improvement. We issued 196 recommendations to help departments strengthen compliance and improve recruitment practice. Audits for the remaining departments will be completed over 2025/26 and 2026/27, completing a three-year audit cycle.
Supporting departments to apply the Recruitment Principles
A key part of our approach is helping departments to get recruitment right first time. Between August and October 2025, we delivered six Recruitment Principles training sessions, covering areas such as common breaches, exceptions, job advertisements, reserve lists, audits, and Commissioner-chaired campaigns. Each session attracted several hundred attendees with a total of 3700 attendees over the year. It is very encouraging to see this level of enthusiasm for practical and shared learning.
Alongside these open sessions, we also continued to work directly with individual departments to provide tailored training and outreach, often linked to their audit findings or specific organisational needs.
Looking ahead, we have published a programme of Recruitment Principles workshops for 2026. Take a look and sign up here.
Openness and public engagement
Being open about how we carry out our role is an important part of being a regulator. In March 2025, we held an online event, ‘Meet the Commissioners’, which was open to the public and attended by over 400 people. Chaired by the First Civil Service Commissioner, Baroness Gisela Stuart, alongside Atul Devani and Martin Spencer, the event gave participants a clearer picture of how Commissioners oversee Senior Civil Service recruitment and the safeguards in place to ensure fair and open recruitment.
The First Commissioner also joined HMRC Permanent Secretary, JP Marks, Alex Thomas and Atul Devani to talk about our role in recruiting senior leaders and developing talent at the Institute for Government on 3 November.
Business Appointment Rules
In October, following the closure of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, we took on the new role of considering applications under the government’s Rules from senior civil servants. Between 13 October and the end of November, we considered 20 cases involving some of the most senior former roles in the Civil Service and published our first quarterly update to the Minister for the Cabinet Office, outlining the work underway to streamline the process and provide thorough, timely advice to applicants.
Finally…
Over the year ahead, we will continue to draw on the evidence from our casework, complaints, audits and engagement to focus our efforts where they are most needed, support departments to meet the Recruitment Principles, and provide independent assurance that appointments to the Civil Service are made fairly, openly and on merit.
I’d like to thank our Commissioners, our staff team and all those we work with right across the Civil Service for their engagement with our work this year - and wish you all a happy and healthy 2026.
The Civil Service Commission (the Commission) has today published an updated version of its Civil Service Code complaints guidance, which can be found here. This guidance will provide clarity on who can bring a complaint to the Commission under the Civil Service Code, which complaints fall within the Commission’s remit and the process of an investigation as well as the potential outcomes.
We’re pleased to share our next round of Recruitment Principles training workshops for early 2026!
Thank you to everyone who attended the last series and took the time to provide feedback. We’ve listened carefully and have made a number of improvements to help make the sessions more engaging, practical, and useful across departments.
All workshops are free to attend and open to colleagues with a government-issued email address. You can register directly using the registration forms below.
Every workshop will be delivered via Microsoft Teams, and all registered attendees will receive the joining link one day in advance of scheduled sessions. Each workshop will run for 45 minutes, including an active Q&A at the end so you can put your questions directly to the team.
Alongside our scheduled workshops, we are also working directly with individual departments to deliver tailored outreach training. These sessions are designed to meet specific organisational needs and are arranged on an as-required basis.
January - June 2026 Workshop Schedule
Monday 12 January 2026, 13:00 - 13:45 - Recruitment Principles Training
A practical introduction to the Civil Service Recruitment Principles, how they apply in day-to-day campaigns, and what good compliance looks like.
Tuesday 10 February 2026, 13:00 - 13:45 - Common Breaches and Lessons Learned
Learn how common breaches impact audits and how to avoid them, with practical strategies and real-life examples.
Wednesday 11 March 2026, 13:00 - 13:45 - Exceptions
A focused session on commonly used exceptions - how and when they apply, and when to seek the Commission’s prior approval.
Tuesday 7 April 2026, 13:00 - 13:45 - Job Adverts Masterclass: Crafting Effective Job Adverts
Improve advert clarity, inclusivity and structure to enhance candidate experience and reduce risks. Includes a mock advert exercise.
Tuesday 5 May 2026, 13:00 - 13:45 - The Use of Reserve Lists
Understand how to compliantly manage reserve lists, including extensions, reassignments, and location changes.
Wednesday 3 June 2026, 13:00 - 13:45 - Mastering the Audit Process: Essential Tips for Success
An essential guide to preparing for audits - tracking processes, managing risks and maintaining compliance.
Monday 29 June 2026, 13:00 - 13:45 - Commissioner-Chaired Campaigns and Panel Composition
Covering the composition and responsibility of selection panels, the role of a department’s Link Commissioner, diversity considerations, and insights from a Commissioner about their experience as a Chair.
Contact
For queries about:
- Common Breaches, Job Advertisements, Audit Process: contact compliance@csc.gov.uk
- Exceptions, Reserve Lists, Commissioner-Led Campaigns: contact info@csc.gov.uk
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.
Baroness Gisela Stuart, First Civil Service Commissioner, and Atul Devani, Civil Service Commissioner and entrepreneur, joined a recent Institute for Government panel on “Leadership change in the civil service: How can new permanent secretaries deliver for government?”
The discussion explored how the Commission works with departments to recruit its senior leaders and the role of the Commission in encouraging external recruitment to bring in new skills and talent.
Baroness Gisela Stuart said:
‘At its simplest, our role is to be the referee of the game in senior recruitment. We set the rules – our recruitment principles – and we make sure the game is played fairly, openly, and in a way that earns public confidence.
It’s worth reminding ourselves that leadership positions in the Civil Service - especially at Permanent Secretary level - are some of the biggest, most complex and most rewarding jobs in the UK. These are roles that carry responsibility for vast budgets, thousands of staff, and services that touch millions of lives every day.
We make sure recruitment remains fair and open, but we are also practical, proportionate and effective - we challenge and support departments to get the leaders they need, using the skills of our Commissioner team as well as our cross-government perspective.’
Baroness Gisela Stuart outlined the Commission’s strategic priorities for 2025–27, while Atul Devani reflected on the importance of innovation and diversity in leadership.
You can watch the full discussion here: Watch the event
The Civil Service Commission has published its strategy for 2025-2027. This outlines our foundations, mission, impact and priorities for the next two years.
Baroness Gisela Stuart, The First Civil Service Commissioner, has provided her first quarterly update to the Minister for the Cabinet Office on the Civil Service Commission's application of the Business Appointment Rules.
Further reading: First Civil Service Commissioner to Minister for the Cabinet Office (Friday 11 July 2025)
The First Civil Service Commissioner wrote to the Permanent Secretaries on 2 October 2025.
The update included:
- Queries on, and applications under, the Business Appointment Rules for senior civil servants and special advisers should now be sent to bars@csc.gov.uk.
- Further information on departmental BARs audits will follow.
The link to the letter can be found here.
