Whitehall departments have cut their top posts by 14.5 per cent since last summer while reducing overall headcount by 4.2 per cent, according to latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), and research carried out by the Institute for Government (IFG).

ONS statistics on public sector employment, published yesterday, show that the numbers of full time equivalent (FTE) staff in the 16 main departments of state fell by by 4.2 per cent between autumn 2010 and the first quarter of this year.

The ONS data shows a rise in civil service employment over the last quarter, but over the last six months headcount has reduced by 1.6 per cent. If temporary staff employed to carry out the census are excluded, the headcount has fallen by 3.1 per cent.

At the very top levels, the number of permanent secretaries and directors-general in post fell by 14.5 per cent across Whitehall, according to figures compiled by the IFG which used organisational data published last year under the transparency agenda and the latest information about departmental structures.

"The general pattern is start from the top and move quite a lot quicker than we might have seen things historically,” said IfG research director Julian McCrae.

In the 1980s, civil service headcount reduced by 10 per cent over four years. The current reductions, said McCrae, are also moving faster than the pace of budget reductions set out in the spending review, but that "is probably a good thing: if you know your organisation is going to shrink, and shrink by that sort of scale, most of the literature on organisational change will emphasise that it’s really quite important to move reasonably quickly”

The communities and transport departments have both reduced overall headcount by over 10 per cent, while the business department has seen the greatest absolute FTE reduction of 360 posts. The health and energy departments and the Cabinet Office have seen small increases in their headcounts.

Full research from the IFG can be seen here

To see the latest ONS figures click here

The Cabinet Office has today published the latest organograms for all departments. Click here to view them.
 

Written by Suzannah Brecknell, CSW