The UK Civil Service workforce has reached 554,000 employees as of September 2025 – the highest level in nearly two decades – even as the government pledges to slash running costs by 15% and Prime Minister Keir Starmer voices frustration over sluggish policy delivery. The Office for National Statistics reported the figure rose by 3,000 since June and by 8,000 since the general election in June 2024.
The current headcount nearly matches the previous peak of 555,000 from March 2006. The workforce has surged by 138,000 employees since June 2016 – a 33.2% increase from the low point of 416,000 recorded during the EU referendum month. Brexit processes added 40,000 staff between 2016 and the pandemic's start, while the Covid-19 response drove another 56,000 increase between March 2020 and March 2022.
Public sector employment as a whole grew by 7,000 in the three months to September, reaching 6.2 million total employees. Central government employment hit a record high of 4.1 million, while local government accounts for just under two million positions. The public sector created more than 60,000 roles over the past year.
Starmer's frustration with delivery speed
Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Parliament on Monday he faces growing frustration with the pace «to get things done» in government. He explained: «My own sense after 12 to 18 months in the job – and this is a fault of governments of all political colours – is every time something has gone wrong in the past, successive governments have put in a place another procedure, another body or another consultation to stop ourselves ever making a mistake again,»
Starmer added: «My experience now as Prime Minister is frustration that every time I go to pull a lever there are a whole bunch of regulations, consultations and arms length bodies that the action from pulling the lever to delivery is longer than I think it ought to be.»
Opposition demands cuts
Reform MP Danny Kruger pledged at a press conference on Monday to halve the number of people in communications and policy roles across Whitehall. He promised to increase the bonus pool for civil servants to reward high-performing staff. Both Reform UK and the Conservatives have committed to significantly reducing public sector staffing levels.
Conservative shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart criticized what he called the «sharp and sustained expansion of the civil service». He stated: «As a result of [Labour]'s anti-growth policies and fundamentally backwards approach to enterprise, the state continues to balloon while businesses are left to fend for themselves.»
Government's planned cuts
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in her March spring statement that Civil Service running costs would be reduced by 15% by the end of the decade. The government revealed plans in April to cut approximately 2,100 staff from the Cabinet Office – with 1,200 roles eliminated through redundancies and 900 transferred to other departments. Ministers described the goal as making the service «fit for the future».
The government has committed to abolishing quangos like NHS England and increasing the proportion of civil servants in digital and data roles. Five departments account for just over two-thirds of the total workforce: the Department for Work and Pensions (97,250 employees), Ministry of Justice (96,715), HM Revenue and Customs (72,885), Ministry of Defence (56,870), and Home Office (50,810). Almost 446,000 of the 554,000 civil servants work full-time.
Pay gap widens
Public sector pay grew by 7.6% in the three months to October, while private sector pay increased by just under 4% – the biggest gulf since mid-2023. This divergence comes as payrolled employees across UK businesses have declined monthly since Reeves' Budget. The private sector employment continues to struggle while public sector headcount climbs.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
