Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, has ordered Whitehall to begin cutting diversity roles as part of a drive to shrink the Civil Service back to its pre-pandemic size.
He called for an end to the “box-ticking” culture and expressed concerns that the focus on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) was hampering productivity.
It is thought the drive could result in as many as 10,000 such jobs being cut over the next few years.
But despite his instructions, issued last October, a number of Government agencies and arms-length bodies are continuing to recruit for diversity roles.
The DVLA is advertising for an equality and inclusion specialist to “drive diversity initiatives”, based outside of London on a salary of £40,808.
‘Counterproductive’ initiatives
Meanwhile, the College of Policing, an arms-length body of the Home Office, is hiring a diversity, equality and inclusion adviser on £33,573 to £42,115.
The Disclosure and Barring Service, another Home Office body, is recruiting a head of strategy, planning and inclusion on a salary of £53,400 to £62,000.
At present, the Prison and Probation Service, the Intellectual Property Office and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman are all also advertising diversity roles.
Kemi Badenoch, the Business Secretary, has criticised the public and private sector for prioritising diversity initiatives, which she has labelled “counterproductive”.
Writing for The Telegraph in March, she said: “While millions are being spent on these initiatives, many popular EDI practices – such as diversity training – have little to no tangible impact in increasing diversity or reducing prejudice.
“In fact, many practices have not only been proven to be ineffective, they have also been counterproductive.”