The post-2016 growth of the civil service has left all but four departments larger than they were in 2010. The four that remain smaller than in 2010 are also the largest overall, with significant operational responsibilities: the Ministry of Justice, Department for Work and Pensions, HMRC and the Ministry of Defence. 

The departments at the centre of government (the Cabinet Office and Treasury) and a number of smaller, more policy-focused departments have seen particularly significant proportional growth since 2016, often as a result of Brexit.

The individual ‘professions’ in the civil service – groupings of officials by based on the type of work they do, rather than which department they work in – have also changed in size. Most of the post-2016 growth in the civil service, and particularly in the MoJ and Home Office, has been in the ‘operational delivery’ profession – reflecting higher numbers of frontline staff such as prison officers and asylum caseworkers. But other professions have also grown. The project delivery and digital, data and technology (DDaT) professions, for example, have expanded by 224% and 199% respectively since 2010, reflecting the efforts that the civil service has made to improve its capability in these and other specialist areas. ²⁰ Cabinet Office, ‘Digital skills brand to attract top tech talent to Civil Service’, GOV.UK, 29 November 2023, www.gov.uk/government/news/digital-skills-rebrand-to-attract-top-tech-talent-to-civil-service; Central Digital and Data Office, Transforming for a digital future: 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data – updated September 2023, GOV.UK, updated 29 November 2023, www.gov.uk/government/publications/roadmap-fordigital-and-data-2022-to-2025/transforming-for-a-digital-future-2022-to-2025-roadmap-for-digital-and-da…