Public sector employment in Scotland: statistics for fourth quarter 2019

5. Civil Service Employment in Scotland; Headcount (see Tables 5 and 6)

This section provides a summary of the civil service in Scotland.

In December 2019, there were 44,900 people employed as civil servants in Scotland. This is made up of 20,600 (45.9%) people working in the Devolved Civil Service and 24,300 (54.1%) working in UK government departments. The total number of civil servants has increased by 1,870 (4.3%) between December 2018 and December 2019.

The devolved civil service is made up of:

• Scottish Government Core Departments
• Scottish Government Agencies
• Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
• Non-Ministerial Departments

The reserved civil service is made up of:

• UK Government Departments
• Scotland Office

Devolved Civil Service

The Devolved Civil Service has 2,420 (13.3%) more people employed since December 2018.

Chart 6 shows a breakdown of the Devolved Civil Service in Scotland as of December 2019^[6].

Source: Public Sector Employment in Scotland, Quarter 4 2019

Note: Totals may not equal the sum of individual parts due to rounding.

Scottish Government Core

In December 2019, there were 7,100 people employed in Scottish Government (SG) Core Directorates, which is 34.6% of the devolved civil service in Scotland. Employment in SG Core Directorates was 680 (10.5%) higher in December 2019, compared with December 2018. This rise in employment is mainly due to the devolution of powers from the UK Government to the Scottish Government^[7].

Scottish Government Agencies^[8]

There were 7,800 people employed in Scottish Government Agencies in December 2019. Employment in SG Agencies increased by 1,450 (22.6%) compared with December 2018.

Non Ministerial Departments

Non Ministerial Departments (NMD) include National Records of Scotland, Registers of Scotland, Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, Scottish Housing Regulator (from April 2012), Revenue Scotland (from January 2015), Food Standards Scotland (from April 2015) and Scottish Fiscal Commission (from September 2017). In December 2019, there were 3,700 people employed in these NMDs. This was 130 (3.7%) more than in December 2018.

Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal

In December 2019, there were 1,900 people employed in the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal, an increase of 160 (9.0%) since December 2018.

Reserved Civil Service

Employment in the Reserved Civil Service was 550 (2.2%) lower than in December 2018, decreasing from 24,900 in December 2018 to 24,300 in December 2019.

Chart 7 identifies the breakdown of headcount employment in UK government departments as at December 2019.

Source: Public Sector Employment in Scotland, Quarter 4 2019
Note: Totals may not equal the sum of individual parts due to rounding.

Department for Work and Pensions

In December 2019, there were 8,300 people employed in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Employment in DWP was 710 (7.9%) lower in December 2019, compared with December 2018.

HM Revenue and Customs

There were 8,100 people employed in HM Revenue and Customs in December 2019, 60 (0.8%) lower than December 2018.

Ministry of Defence

There were 4,100 people employed in the Ministry of Defence in December 2019, 0.1% lower than December 2018.

Other Civil Service^[9]

The number of people employed in Other Reserved Civil Service in December 2019 was 160 (6.3%) higher at 2,800 people.

Department for International Development

The number of people employed in the Department for International Development in December 2019 was 1,000, 60 (6.3%) higher than December 2018.

Scotland Office

In December 2019, there were 90 people employed in the Scotland Office, an increase of 4.8% since December 2018.