During the reporting period, there were 90 appointments through open competition to the Senior Civil Service which required the Commissioners’ approval. These covered all vacancies at Pay Band 2, Pay Band 3, Director General and Permanent Secretary levels. Communications posts at Pay Band 1 were also covered. Commissioners chaired nine other competitions at the request of the Head of the Home Civil Service or a Permanent Secretary.
Seventeen appointments at the top of the Civil Service fell within the remit of the Senior Leadership Committee (SLC), which reviews whether or not Permanent Secretary and Director General appointments should be filled through external recruitment. The Committee is chaired by the Head of the Home Civil Service. The First Civil Service Commissioner is a member.
The percentage of senior appointees joining the Civil Service from outside was broadly similar to that of 2005/06, with a slightly higher percentage coming from the private sector and less from the wider public sector.
Sources of All Senior Appointees
| Year | Civil Service | Private Sector | Public Sector | Total |
| 2003/04 | 43 (48%) | 27 (30%) | 19 (21%) | 89 |
| 2004/05 | 37 (41%) | 37 (40%) | 17 (19%) | 91 |
| 2005/06 | 42 (38%) | 39 (35%) | 30 (27%) | 111 |
| 2006/07 | 35 (39%) | 35 (39%) | 20 (22%) | 90 |
Although there has been a year on year increase in the proportion of women in the Senior Civil Service recently, out of the 90 senior appointments which we approved in 2006-07, only 24 (27%) of the successful candidates were women (including four of 17 SLC appointments). We are concerned that this is a decline from the steady improvements of the last three years: 21 per cent in 2003/04; 30 per cent in 2004/05; and 31.5 per cent in 2005/06. We will continue to monitor and report on this important issue – and will do the same for the Black and Minority Ethnic candidates and those with a disability.
Gender of all Senior Appointees | |||||
| SLC | Below SLC | ||||
| Year | F | M | F | M | Total |
| 2004/05 | 4 (4.5%) | 15 (16.5%) | 23 (25%) | 49 (54%) | 91 |
| 2005/06 | 6 (5%) | 14 (13%) | 29 (26%) | 62 (56%) | 111 |
| 2006/07 | 4 (4.5%) | 13 (14.5%) | 20 (22%) | 53 (59%) | 90 |
