The UK government is set to overhaul its civil service internship programme, restricting eligibility to students from working-class backgrounds in a bid to make Whitehall more representative of the country it serves. This move, announced in 2025, is part of a broader push to break down barriers to opportunity and boost social mobility within the civil service.
Under the new scheme, which will open for applications in October 2025 and welcome its first cohort in summer 2026, roughly 200 undergraduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds will be offered paid placements lasting six to eight weeks. These placements will provide hands-on experience in civil service departments, including tasks such as planning events, drafting briefings for ministers, shadowing senior civil servants, and conducting policy research.
The eligibility criteria for the internships will be tightened significantly. Rather than being open to all university students, the main Whitehall internship scheme will now be limited to those whose parents’ occupations, when the applicants were 14, fall within the working-class category. This classification is based on standards set by the Office for National Statistics and advised by the Social Mobility Commission, which considers parental occupation the most accurate measure of socio-economic status.
Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the minister responsible for civil service reform, emphasised the rationale behind this shift. “We need to get more working-class young people into the Civil Service so it harnesses the broadest range of talent and truly reflects the country,” he told the BBC. “Government makes better decisions when it represents and understands the people we serve.” McFadden also highlighted the ambition to open up opportunities across the UK, stating, “I want to open up opportunities for students from all backgrounds, and in every corner of the UK, so they can take a leading role at the heart of government as we rewire the state and deliver the Plan for Change.”
The programme will not only provide work experience but also offer tailored support to participants. Each intern will be paired with a “buddy” who is a current Fast Streamer—participants in the civil service’s flagship graduate scheme—and will have access to skills sessions designed to prepare them for future civil service careers. Those who perform well during the internship will be fast-tracked to the final stages of the Fast Stream selection process, increasing their chances of securing a permanent role after graduation.
This change comes amid concerns that students from lower socio-economic backgrounds have been underrepresented in the civil service’s Fast Stream programme. While approximately 25% of higher education students come from such backgrounds, they constituted only about 12% of successful Fast Stream applicants in 2024. The Fast Stream, which offers accelerated routes to senior leadership positions within the government, briefly paused in 2023 due to cost-cutting but has since been reinstated.
Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union representing senior civil servants, welcomed the internship scheme’s refocus on working-class recruitment. He noted that only 18% of senior civil servants come from working-class backgrounds and stressed the importance of not only entry but also progression within the civil service for these individuals. “For people from disadvantaged backgrounds, even if you do manage to get into the civil service, you will not always get on,” he said, calling for further work to support upward mobility.
Sarah Atkinson, chief executive of the Social Mobility Foundation, expressed her approval of the government’s decision to ringfence internship opportunities for students from lower-income backgrounds. “We know that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not, and sometimes bold action is needed to create a truly level playing field,” she stated.
However, the policy has faced criticism from some Conservative figures. Kemi Badenoch, Conservative shadow cabinet office minister, dismissed the scheme as “rubbish,” asserting that a Conservative government under her leadership would “scrap all this rubbish and just hire the best people.” She argued that public services deserve talent chosen on ability and warned that the scheme sends a message that “unless you fit a particular social profile, you’re no longer welcome.”
The government’s efforts to diversify the civil service also include plans to decentralise its workforce. Earlier in 2025, it announced a target for 50% of Fast Stream placements to be located outside London by 2030. This is part of a wider initiative to relocate thousands of civil servant roles to regional campuses across the UK, including major hubs in Manchester focused on digital innovation and AI, and Aberdeen centered on energy. Other cities slated for new government roles include Birmingham, Leeds, Cardiff, Glasgow, Darlington, Newcastle, Sheffield, Bristol, Edinburgh, Belfast, and York.
These regional moves aim to reduce the number of civil servants working in London by approximately 12,000, saving the government an estimated £94 million annually in lease costs by 2032. The closure of 11 government office buildings in London, including a large Westminster site, forms part of this strategy.
Despite these reforms, some observers have raised concerns about the political dynamics within Whitehall. The announcement of the internship programme’s new eligibility criteria came amid scrutiny of Labour’s own senior ranks, which reportedly include several closely related individuals in influential positions. For example, Pat McFadden is married to Labour’s assistant general secretary Marianna, and the prime minister’s chief of staff is married to an MP who serves as a parliamentary private secretary.
Nonetheless, the government’s Plan for Change, which encompasses these initiatives, signals a concerted effort to reshape the civil service into a more diverse and socially representative institution. By focusing on paid internships for working-class students and relocating jobs beyond London, the government aims to foster greater inclusivity and regional economic benefits. The projected impact includes boosting local economies by an estimated £729 million by 2030 through job creation in multiple cities.
With the civil service workforce having grown to nearly 550,000 people as of March 2025—the highest in two decades—these reforms arrive at a critical juncture. The government has pledged to reduce the size of the civil service in coming years, yet it seeks simultaneously to broaden access and improve social mobility within its ranks.
As the first cohort of the new internship programme prepares to start in summer 2026, the civil service stands at a crossroads. Will these measures succeed in opening doors for working-class talent and reshaping an institution often criticised for its exclusivity? The coming years will reveal whether this ambitious plan can truly “rewire the state” and make the government workforce reflect the society it serves.
