About The Commission
We are established by statute to provide assurance that civil servants are selected on merit on the basis of fair and open competition; and to help safeguard an impartial Civil Service.
We are appointed through public open competition and are independent of the Government and the Civil Service. As senior managers from the private, public and voluntary sectors we seek to be firm on principles but pragmatic about process.
We want to see a highly efficient and effective Civil Service, now and for the future. We strongly believe that the country is best served by a Civil Service which recruits and develops the best and most diverse talent, free of personal and political patronage, and remains true to its core values of Impartiality, Objectivity, Integrity and Honesty in the Civil Service Code.
The Commission consists of the Civil Service Commissioners and our staff.
There have been Civil Service Commissioners since 1855 working under the Royal Prerogative. The Constitutional Reform and Governance established the Civil Service Commission on a statutory basis.
The Commission is independent of Government and of the Civil Service. We are an executive Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by the Cabinet Office.
We record our private interests which might influence our judgement, or which could be perceived to do so, in a Register of Interests (PDF, 12 pages, opens in a new tab).
Please see the below video for a useful introduction to the Civil Service Commission and our work.
