Whitehall bosses are to ask staff if they went to private school in a drive to increase diversity. As part of a survey of ‘socio-economic’ issues, civil servants will be asked to state the type of school they attended. Other topics will include whether they qualified for free school meals as children and the profession and academic qualifications of their parents.
The survey has been drawn up following a consultation with private sector firms KPMG, Grant Thornton and Linklaters. These companies are already said to ask staff such questions, while others including Standard Life say they will follow suit. Tens of thousands of civil servants will take part in the annual survey in October.
But another Civil Service survey of almost 3,000 senior civil servants in 2016 found that just 23 per cent went to a fee-paying school, and 42 per cent of those had been on bursaries.
