There are now an eye-watering 5,948 full-time equivalent staff in the Government Communications Service. Business is booming given the constant self-inflicted crises this government finds itself managing…
Across all departments and quangos, the Health and Social Care Department tops the table with 772 communications staff. The Cabinet Office has 406 comms gurus, Richard Hermer’s department employs 97, and the Home Office has 187. Meanwhile the Treasury has 84. Will be interesting to see whether that number goes up or down after the Budget leaks ‘investigation‘…
Read the breakdown of comms staff below:
Continue reading “Embattled Government Employs Nearly 6,000 Communications Staff”
Civil servants at Whitehall’s wokest agency have launched a monthly hour-long LGBT film discussion club. To meet in – you guessed it – working hours…
A round robin message went out from the Care Quality Commission’s LGBT+ Network to CQC staff including its deputy director advertising the sessions, which take place from 1530 to 1630 on Wednesdays. The message said:
“Hey folks,
We’re keen to keep the Film Club rolling, so we’re putting a hold in calendars for future monthly sessions via Microsoft Teams.
We’ll share a film selection closer to each session but would love your input! If you’ve got a film you’d like to see featured, please let us know! Hope to see you (and your popcorn) there!
Don’t forget to watch the movie ahead of the call, or just come along if you fancy a chat (with spoilers)!”
This week’s discussion was about Australian cult film Priscilla Queen of the Desert. In case co-conspirators forgot the plot:
“When drag queen Anthony agrees to take his act on the road, he invites fellow cross-dresser Adam and transsexual Bernadette to come along. In their colorful bus, named Priscilla, the three performers travel across the Australian desert performing for enthusiastic crowds and homophobic locals.”
A report last year found seven in ten community social care services either have no CQC rating or one that’s out of date. Thank God the session is available on Teams – otherwise the pen-pushers would have to come in for it…
Latest government figures on sickness absence within the Civil Service show the overall Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) per staff year has jumped by 5% in 2025 compared to last year. Sickening numbers…
Across the Civil Service, 8.2 days were lost, compared to 7.8 last year. A staggering 47.1% of long term sickness absence was down to mental health illness…
The Scotland Office saw the greatest increase in AWDL of 338%, DCMS saw a 44% jump, the Foreign Office rose by 20%, the Cabinet Office by 14%, the Home Office by 12% and the Justice Department by 10%. Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart told Guido:
“Of course, people get sick. But under Labour, sick days have surged alongside a ballooning, less efficient Civil Service. Worse still, the Government abandoned Conservative plans to reduce headcount, signalling a clear lack of grip on productivity and value for money for hardworking taxpayers.”
Pass the tissues…
Read the breakdown of departments below:
Continue reading “Days Lost to Sickness in Civil Service Jump by 5% Under Labour”
The Civil Service has officially ditched handing out awards for diversity and inclusion. Last year, at the annual Civil Service Awards, one lucky pen-pusher in the Department for Work and Pensions bagged the Diversity & Inclusion Award – reserved for anyone “who recognises those who work to embed diversity and inclusion, driving positive change for our colleagues.” No such award this year…
Instead a new ‘People’s Choice Award’ was handed to a team in HMRC for finally decommissioning the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system. This was a complex customs system the government announced it would scrap back in March 2021, with a shutdown date set for March 2023. It was only officially axed at the end of December 2024. Finish the job nearly two years after the deadline? Here’s a trophy…
Government departments are resisting the speedy imposition of a new policy curbing the operation of woke ‘staff networks’ including diversity networks. What did you expect…
The key plank of reforms announced by the Cabinet Office in September instructed that “all events will need to be signed off by a senior civil servant and must take place outside of working hours.” Nick Thomas Symonds also put through guidance on diversity networks supposed to reinforce “the need to promote all view points equally, and ensure their role – to promote equality and inclusion in the civil service for everyone – is not lost in pursuit of a particular issue.” Unfortunately promoting all view points equally is antithetical to specific diversity networks…
The Cabinet Office enforced the new rules on Civil Service-wide networks but departments had to adopt them for their own departments subsequently. It is internal departmental diversity networks that get up to the majority of woke guff…
Guido has enquired on the departments’ progress. It’s going at a snail’s pace:
- ❌ MOD: Not adopted. “The Defence Diversity and Inclusion Team is reviewing the new Cabinet Office Network Policy at pace and will be updating JSP 890 (Defence’s Network Policy) accordingly. A date cannot be confirmed until the conclusion of the Defence Diversity and Inclusion Team’s review of the Cabinet Office Network Policy.”
- ❌ DHSC: Not adopted. “We are currently reviewing the model policy and engaging with networks within the department to ensure it covers the needs of our organisation. The DHSC Staff Network Policy is expected to be launched in early 2026 and will be based on the model Civil Service Staff Network Policy.”
- ❌ FCDO: Not adopted. “The FCDO is in a transitionary phase of adopting the Civil Service Staff Network Policy launched in September 2025. We are applying what we can from the Civil Service policy now, such as more senior clearance on Staff Network activity and testing what takes place in working hours. The FCDO is developing policy on how to apply the Civil Service policy internally. The policy will be implemented once decisions on this are made.“
- ❌ Government Legal Department: Not adopted. “GLD is in the process of adopting the Civil Service Staff Network Policy that was launched in September 2025. The planned date for publishing the adopted GLD Staff Network Policy is 15 December.”
- ❌ Treasury: Not adopted. “HM Treasury is in the process of adopting the model policy and expects to implement it by the end of the financial year.”
- ❌ Defra: Not adopted. “Defra has not yet adopted the model Civil Service Staff Network Policy but intends to implement an adapted version of it to reflect the Civil and Public Service workforces which make up Defra group. This will be launched in February 2026.”
- ❌ DfT: Not adopted. “There is currently no fixed date for adoption of the policy in DfT.”
- ❌ DBT: Not adopted. “Subject to an indicative timeline, DBT plans to adapt and adopt the new Cabinet Office Staff Network Policy by the end of this financial year, 31 March 2026.“
In classic Civil Service style some departments have given themselves six months to change some basic rules on what staff can do in working hours. This is hardly regular – DCMS and the Scotland Office have adopted the new rules already…
DCMS adds: “Our HR team will continue to work closely with staff networks to ensure we maintain the inclusive culture we are proud of at DCMS.” Something has to keep the woke HR staff in frappucinos…
David Lammy found time to attend a civil service panel discussion on “Black career journeys” on the same day he claimed to be “outraged and appalled” at the accidental prison release of a second migrant. And just hours after he self-destructed in DPMQs like a nine-year-old…
Given the chaos of that day, you’d think the Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary would at least try to be across the detail. Here is what Lammy was doing at 3pm on the 5th of November, according to invites sent to all Cabinet Office civil servants:
“To mark the end of Black History Month, join Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy and Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary and Civil Service Chief Operating Officer, Catherine Little, for this panel discussion on black career journeys in government.
They’ll be joined by:
Justin Placide, DESNZ (Co-Chair of The Civil Service Race Forum)
Matthew Otubu, Cabinet Office (Founder, Black Politicos)
Saher Jones, DWP (Co-Chair, DWP National Race Network)
This session will explore the career journeys of the panelists, the career progression cycle in the Civil Service, and ways that leaders in the Civil Service can support greater workplace equality and inclusion.”
Just the thing you want the Deputy PM doing on the day of an “urgent manhunt” for a criminal mistakenly released on his watch…
Former leader of the SNP in Westminster Ian Blackford told Times Radio why he believes Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she spent no time in the kitchen and therefore didn’t see any of her husband’s purchases:
“She doesn’t have a passion for cooking.”
