Graduates need-to-know: how central government and the Civil Service work
The Civil Service is a complex organisation that employs almost 500,000 people in 23 Whitehall departments and 66 executive agencies. Each concentrates on a specific area of policy or service, such as education, transport, pensions or fraud investigation. Civil servants are politically impartial and provide the government of the day with information and advice on their specialist area.
- What’s working life like for graduate’s in central government?
- Graduate views: get the insider perspective from graduates on the job
How is central government structured?
Government departments, such as the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Children, Schools and Families, are responsible for devising policies and checking that they are implemented. A department is usually headed by a minister who is a member of the cabinet and known as a secretary of state, accountable for the department in parliament.
Non-ministerial departments, such as HM Revenues and Customs, work largely independently – nonetheless, a secretary of state is accountable for the department’s actions.
Agencies are the practical side of central government: they deliver services, such as assessing claims and paying out benefits, and organise provision to best suit the needs of their clients. The day-to-day running of an agency is overseen by a chief executive, but each agency is sponsored by a department (or two) and is accountable in parliament.
Areas of work in the Civil Service
The Civil Service is incredibly wide-ranging, with graduates careers available in three professional groups:
- Corporate services delivery – support services essential to the functioning of an organisation, such as IT, finance and human resources.
- Operational delivery – providing services to the public and ensuring completion of projects.
- Policy delivery – research, analysis and development of government policy. This might involve in-depth information gathering or groundbreaking scientific research. You can choose to apply to a department or agency that focuses on an area that interests you.
