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Civil service diversity spending under scrutiny amid calls for efficiency and transparency

Saturday, 31 May 2025 12:17AM UTC

The UK government's £27 million expenditure on civil service equality, diversity, and inclusion initiatives is facing criticism as it coincides with planned job cuts and concerns over inefficiency, prompting demands for greater transparency and a shift to outcome-focused strategies.

Significant expenditures on diversity initiatives within the UK civil service have ignited a contentious debate on the balance between inclusivity and fiscal responsibility. A recent Cabinet Office audit revealed that Whitehall allocated £27 million to various equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) efforts in the last financial year. This figure includes £20 million in salaries for 380 EDI staff, whose average remuneration stands at £53,000, alongside an additional £7.1 million for activities such as training sessions and memberships in diversity organisations like Stonewall. Critics argue that such spending undermines the principle of neutrality within the civil service, suggesting that it distracts from core responsibilities to the public.

The report highlighted that 350 full-time EDI officers are embedded within government departments, while another 30 operate at the government level, promoting controversial topics such as gender identity perception and issues related to race and microaggressions. This focus on ideological alignment has prompted backlash from those who believe that it stifles dissenting viewpoints and creates an environment where critical discussions on gender and race can be silenced. Proponents, however, maintain that these efforts are vital for ensuring fair treatment of minority groups within the public sector.

In the backdrop of this discourse, the UK government is actively pursuing a strategy aimed at reducing civil service headcount by 10%, equating to approximately 50,000 jobs. This austerity measure aligns with a broader agenda to revisit public spending, especially at a time when costs need to be scrutinised more rigorously. Right-leaning think tanks like Policy Exchange have even advocated for further job cuts, suggesting a reduction of up to 80,000 roles to maximise efficiency in government operations. Concerns about a "bloated" bureaucratic staff have been echoed by individuals such as a former Treasury second permanent secretary, who noted that inefficiencies can lead to an administrative machinery that hampers effective public service delivery.

Interestingly, the context of diversity spending coincides with persistent gender pay gaps across several major departments. The Department of Health and Social Care, for instance, has seen its gender pay gap rise from 9.1% to 13.9%, raising alarm about the efficacy of existing diversity initiatives. Meanwhile, the civil service as a whole has seen a slight improvement in its median gender pay gap, decreasing to 8.5%—still above the national average. Increasing accountability is now demanded, with the government planning to enforce stricter reporting requirements to address these inequalities effectively. Insights from the Chartered Management Institute underscore the imperative of integrating gender pay efforts into overarching economic growth strategies.

The Cabinet Office's review of EDI spending, commissioned by the previous Conservative government, represents a significant step towards understanding how resources are allocated within the civil service. According to a recent speech by a key minister, there is a drive to transform public spending on EDI into a more transparent and accountable process. This includes halting all external EDI spending without ministerial approval, and consolidating EDI roles directly into human resources departments to ensure strategic alignment with statutory obligations.

Nevertheless, transitioning from a broad-brush approach to a more targeted, outcome-oriented strategy presents its own challenges. Critics argue that the latest diversity strategy lacks clear objectives and success metrics, making it difficult for departments to navigate their EDI requirements effectively. Although new initiatives, such as ensuring a higher proportion of senior civil servants are based outside London, are commendable, they will need rigorous oversight to ensure that progress is made.

As the civil service grapples with the dual challenges of promoting inclusivity while adhering to fiscal prudence, the outcome of these policies remains essential for the sustainability of public services. Balancing these demands will require thoughtful consideration of how best to utilise government resources, ensuring that efforts to create a diverse workforce do not come at the expense of efficiency and accountability.

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Source: Noah Wire Services

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