2016 data released

New 2016 and revised 2015 results from the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES) were added to Nomis on 6 October 2016.

ACSES provides a count of home Civil Service employees. It excludes the Northern Ireland Civil Service, other Crown servants and employees in the wider public sector, for example, employees of Non-Departmental Public Bodies and the National Health Service. From 2015 the Central Government Security workforce is excluded.

Statistics are available on the age, responsibility level (grade), department, gender, ethnicity, disability status, salary band and national identity of the Civil Service workforce.


Central Government Security Workforce

For operational security reasons, Central Government Security workforce numbers will no longer be reported as part of the Civil Service. As a result, there have been revisions to the 2015 Civil Service figures, enabling like for like comparisons with 2016. However, Central Government Security remains for years prior to 2015 so this should be borne in mind when analysing data on a time series basis.


Accessing ACSES Data

Use the data query option to access the dataset:


Background Notes

  1. Survey details
    • ACSES is a complete census of the Civil Service. All Civil Service departments are contacted and asked to complete a return which contains an individual record for each civil servant.
    • The reference date for the survey is 31 March. Departments are asked to provide information for all staff in post at the reference date and all staff who left the Civil Service during the 12-month period prior to the reference date
  2. Summary Quality Report
    • A Summary Quality Report (pdf) for ACSES gives further details about the survey including the intended uses of the statistics, their general quality and the methods used to produce them.
  3. Common pitfalls in interpreting the series
    • This release counts all home Civil Service employees. Civil Service Statistics excludes the Northern Ireland Civil Service, other Crown servants and employees in the wider public sector, for example, employees of Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) and the National Health Service (NHS).
    • Statistics are published on the gender, ethnicity, disability status and age of the Civil Service workforce. All diversity statistics relate to civil servants counted on a headcount basis.
  4. Accuracy
    • All government departments and agencies responded to the survey for the year ending 31 March 2016.
    • Departments are not always able to provide complete information for every variable and users should consider this known under-coverage and non-response issue when interpreting the statistics, particularly over time.
    • The main reason for under-coverage and non-response is that it can take time for HR systems to catch up when a new employee joins their department. Departments are also increasingly moving to self-service systems which require individuals to maintain their personal information via an intranet service. While it is the responsibility of departments to review the quality of information held and encourage regular updates, an element of non-response is expected.