The number of officials leaving the civil service through voluntary exit schemes has quadrupled in just one year.
According to the newly-published Civil Service Statistics data, 2,690 officials left the civil service via voluntary exit schemes in 2025-26, compared to 615 in 2024-25.
The 2,690 figure is the highest since the Cabinet Office introduced the recording of specific reasons for leaving the civil service when it took over responsibility of the Civil Service Statistics from the Office for National Statistics in 2019.
The surge in voluntary exits comes after dozens of VE schemes were launched across government last year as part of plans to reduce the size of the civil service, with a focus on cutting back administrative, back-office functions.
In December, civil service chief operating officer Cat Little said around 5,000 officials were expected to leave the civil service by the end of March 2026 under 36 schemes.
Asked by CSW why the Civil Service Statistics show a lower figure of 2,690, a government spokesperson said: "The estimate given in December was based on exit schemes running across central government. The statistics published last week cover a narrower population of departments and agencies.
"We are prioritising frontline delivery, putting more money into putting more police on the streets, teachers in our children's classrooms and nurses in the NHS."
The National Audit Office has estimated that more than 8,500 civil servants are expected to leave under exit schemes by the end of March 2027, at a cost of £536m.
The staff reductions form part of wider plans for departments to meet their 2025 Spending Review targets to reudce their administration budgets by at least 11% in real terms by 2028-29, and 16% by 2029-30.
The departments with the highest numbers of voluntary exit scheme departures in 2025-26 were:
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: 450 including agencies and 300 on its own
- Cabinet Office: 410 including agencies and 405 on its own
- Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: 380 including agencies and 365 on its own
- DHSC: 320 including agencies and 265 on its own
- MHCLG core: 255
Turnover at five-year low
The 2026 Civil Service Statistics release also shows that the rate of turnover in the civil service has fallen to a five-year low.
The new figures show there was a turnover rate of 6.9% in 2025-26. This is the lowest since 2020-21, when the turnover rate was 5.9%.
There were 42,855 new entrants in 2025-26, down from 44,310 in 2024-25, and 37,945 people left the civil service over the year, down from 38,610 in the previous year.
This is the lowest number of entrants since 2019-20, when 30,680 people joined the civil service – and the lowest number of departures since 2020-21, when 27,825 officials left.
The figures also show that the resignation rate in the civil service was 3.1% in 2025-26, the lowest since 2020-21’s 2.3%.
The most common reason for leaving the civil service is resignation, accounting for 17,085 leavers in 2025-26 – followed by retirement (10,895), and dismissal (3,555).