Equality in 2025: how the Department of Health and Social Care met the public sector equality duty
Published 14 July 2026
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About this report
The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017 require relevant public bodies, including the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), to publish information at least annually showing how they comply with the public sector equality duty (PSED). Public bodies must also set and publish equality objectives at least every 4 years.
This report is divided into 2 sections.
Section 1 gives an overview of the work the department has carried out to comply with the PSED in relation to its public policies.
Section 2 sets out the department’s equality objectives and outlines its compliance with the PSED in relation to the workforce and shared ambition for the Civil Service to become the UK’s most inclusive employer. This section also presents DHSC workforce data and explains how data and evidence are used to inform activities.
Both sections cover the reporting period 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025.
Introduction
DHSC helps people live more independent and healthier lives for longer. As the department responsible for the health and care system, DHSC works to ensure the system delivers the best possible health and care outcomes for people in England.
The PSED, set out in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, requires public bodies to consider equality when shaping policy and providing services.
Policymakers and decision makers, including ministers, must have due regard to the following 3 aims when developing or changing policies or services that affect people:
- eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and other conduct prohibited by the act
- advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not
- foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not
To demonstrate compliance with the duty, the department records how equality considerations have informed decision making. This includes documenting how policies have been assessed against the matters set out in section 149 of the act.
When introducing new programmes, or making significant changes to existing programmes, the department carries out an equality impact assessment (EqIA).
Advancing equality of opportunity includes:
- considering how decisions can remove or reduce disadvantages experienced by people because of their protected characteristics
- taking steps to meet the needs of people who share a protected characteristic where these differ from the needs of others
- encouraging participation in public life or other activities where participation is disproportionately low
The protected characteristics covered by the Equality Act are:
- age
- disability
- gender reassignment
- pregnancy and maternity
- race
- religion or belief (including lack of belief)
- sex
- sexual orientation
- marriage and civil partnership (in relation to eliminating unlawful discrimination only)
People’s protected characteristics can interact and shape their experiences. Taking an intersectional approach, which considers combinations of protected characteristics, can provide a fuller understanding of people’s experiences and outcomes. Where evidence is available, this can support better policymaking, improve understanding of diversity within the organisation and inform diversity and inclusion (D&I) action plans.
DHSC also extends its equal opportunities policies and practices for employees to characteristics not covered by the Equality Act. These include:
- working patterns
- caring responsibilities
- geographical location
- socioeconomic background
In addition, as part of the Secretary of State’s duty to address health inequalities, the department considers factors such as geographical location and socioeconomic status when developing policy.
The equality duty requires public bodies to consider equality as part of their day-to-day work. Considering equality at the point policies and services are designed helps ensure that decisions achieve their intended outcomes and do not unintentionally widen disparities. It also supports better decision making, as organisations that respond to the diverse needs of their users and employees are more likely to achieve their objectives effectively.
Two significant developments during the reporting period provide important context for this report:
- the publication of the government’s 10 Year Health Plan for England
- the announcement of the DHSC and NHS England Transformation Programme
The 10 Year Health Plan was published on 3 July 2025. It sets out a vision to distribute power to patients, revitalise the NHS and make it fit for the future. The plan was informed by more than 270,000 contributions from the public and staff.
The plan provides a long-term strategic framework for improving health outcomes, tackling health inequalities and supporting a sustainable health and care system over the next decade.
Equality considerations were embedded throughout the development of the plan. This included a focus on prevention, addressing the wider determinants of health, and improving access, experience and outcomes for groups who experience the greatest health disparities.
Engagement with stakeholders, including those representing people with protected characteristics, helped ensure that advancing equality of opportunity and reducing inequalities are central to the future direction of health and care services.
As part of this process, targeted engagement activities were undertaken to reach people who may be less likely to participate in standard consultation approaches. This included the ‘workshop in a box’ model, which enabled community-led discussions across England and supported engagement with a wide range of groups, including people from ethnic minority backgrounds, people with learning disabilities and/or autism, and others experiencing health inequalities. The wider engagement programme also involved discussions with partner organisations, charities and patient groups through national engagement events and the Change NHS platform.
Insights gathered through these activities informed the development of the plan and its focus on reducing health inequalities and improving access to, and outcomes from, health and care services.
As set out in the ‘Equality in our policies’ section below, several policies delivered during the reporting period contribute directly to the ambitions of the 10 Year Health Plan to narrow health inequalities and address inequalities in access and outcomes.
Further information on how the 10 Year Health Plan complies with the PSED is available at Equalities impact assessment: 10 Year Health Plan for England.
In March 2025, the Prime Minister announced that NHS England would be abolished and its functions largely moved into DHSC.
As part of the transition process, DHSC and NHS England are working together to agree how the new department can best address its statutory responsibilities under the PSED. This includes exploring the best practice from both organisations on compliance with the PSED and the specific equality duties.
Equality implications are an important consideration for the Transformation Programme. DHSC will continue to monitor effects on staff as the programme develops to ensure the department meets its PSED duties.
Equality in our policies
This section provides evidence demonstrating compliance with the PSED during the period 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025.
It offers a broad overview of the department’s work and policies during this period. It is not intended to provide an exhaustive account of all areas of work. Information on other activity may be included in reports published by the department’s arm’s length bodies (ALBs) or by other government departments where they lead on particular issues.
Mental health
DHSC and its ALBs continue to work to address disparities in how people from different ethnic groups and other groups with protected characteristics access mental health services and experience care.
Improving mental health and wellbeing
The 10 Year Health Plan sets out plans to strengthen mental health support across the country. The government’s ambition is to:
- transform mental health services into 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres
- invest in new mental health emergency departments
- expand talking therapies and mental health support teams in schools and colleges
- provide patients with better access to 24/7 support through the NHS App
Mental Health Act 2025
Data for 2024 to 2025 shows that people from ethnic minority backgrounds remain disproportionately more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 and to be placed on a community treatment order after discharge.
Black people are 4 times more likely to be detained under the act than White people (up from 3.5 times in 2023 to 2024) and more than 8.5 times more likely to be placed on a community treatment order (up from 7 times in 2023 to 2024).
The Mental Health Act 2025, which received Royal Assent in December 2025 (outside the reporting period), strengthens the rights and voices of patients who are subject to, or at risk of being subject to, the act.
The 2025 act gives greater statutory weight to patients’ rights to be involved in planning their care and making decisions about treatment. It also limits the circumstances in which people with a learning disability or autistic people can be detained. These reforms increase scrutiny of detention to ensure detention is used only when necessary and for the shortest possible time.
Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework
The NHS has rolled out the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF). The framework brings together NHS staff and people from ethnic minority communities at a local level to identify opportunities for improvement in mental health services.
The PCREF became a contractual requirement for all providers of NHS-commissioned mental health services in March 2025.
The framework supports mental health trusts to identify practical steps to improve the experience of racialised and ethnically and culturally diverse communities, and to establish systematic approaches to learning from these experiences.
NHS England is supporting systems to implement the framework through guidance, tools and reporting mechanisms designed to strengthen accountability and drive improvement.
Women’s health
In England, women have a longer life expectancy than men, with life expectancy at birth being 83.0 years for women and 79.1 years for men from 2022 to 2024.
Additionally:
- healthy life expectancy for both men and women fell during the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued to decrease since
- on average, women spend 73% of their lives in good general health, compared with 77% for men
- life expectancy has now recovered for both women and men since falling during the COVID-19 pandemic
DHSC is dedicated to advancing women’s health through comprehensive policies and initiatives. These include commitments to improve access to quality healthcare, promote research on women’s health issues and address gender-specific health disparities.
Strong progress has already been made in delivering on the commitments set out in the 2022 Women’s Health Strategy, including improving women’s and girls’ awareness and access to services, and funding and promoting research to benefit women’s health.
Examples of new research funded by the department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), during this period include a £1.7 million trial assessing the effectiveness of non-surgical interventions, such as pelvic floor exercises and vaginal pessaries, in managing the symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse. In addition, a study has been commissioned to examine socioeconomic and ethnic disparities in certain health outcomes associated with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) use among older women. The £2.7 million PRE-EMPT study, which is exploring the role of cervical length screening in preventing pre-term (early) births, also began in January 2025.
During the reporting period, the government worked to renew the Women’s Health Strategy for England to set out next steps for improving women’s healthcare as part of the 10 Year Health Plan. The priority was to create a system that listens to women’s experiences and tackles the inequalities they face. The renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England was published on 15 April 2026.
Maternity and neonatal care
The department is committed to ensuring that maternity and neonatal care in the NHS remains safe, personalised and compassionate, and meets the needs of women, babies and families.
This work supports the 10 Year Health Plan’s ambition to improve outcomes at the start of life and reduce inequalities in maternity and neonatal care.
National maternity and neonatal investigation
Following an announcement by the Secretary of State in June 2025, a national independent investigation into maternity and neonatal services was launched in September 2025, led by Baroness Amos.
The investigation examined systemic issues and inequalities in maternity and neonatal care, particularly those affecting women, babies and families from Black and Asian backgrounds, deprived communities and other marginalised groups.
The final report was published on 30 June 2026.
The Secretary of State has also announced the creation of a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, which he is chairing. The taskforce will address the investigation’s recommendations through a national action plan.
Extension of baby loss certificates
Since October 2024, baby loss certificates have been available to parents who have experienced pregnancy loss before 24 weeks of gestation, or before 28 weeks for losses prior to October 1992, regardless of when the loss occurred.
This extended eligibility beyond the previous scheme, which was limited to losses since 1 September 2018.
Baby loss certificates allow bereaved parents to formally recognise their loss. The scheme is voluntary and non-statutory.
As of 17 November 2025, 115,989 certificates had been issued.
Avoidable brain injury in childbirth programme
All NHS trusts are implementing the Saving Babies’ Lives Care Bundle, which aims to reduce stillbirths, preterm births and neonatal complications.
As of May 2025, 116 of 120 trusts were fully compliant, representing a 10% increase since April 2024.
The programme provides evidence-based guidance and interventions to support maternity care providers and commissioners in reducing perinatal mortality and improving neonatal outcomes.
Maternal mental health services
As of June 2025, maternal mental health services are available across all parts of England.
In the 12 months to October 2025, 66,370 women accessed specialist community perinatal mental health services or maternal mental health services.
These services support women with existing or emerging moderate-to-severe mental health conditions who are planning a pregnancy, are pregnant, or have a baby up to 2 years old.
Men’s health
DHSC is committed to improving men’s health through targeted policies that address the specific risks and barriers men face.
These include:
- strengthening prevention and early diagnosis
- improving access to primary care and mental health services
- encouraging healthier behaviours
- promoting research into conditions that disproportionately affect men
Reducing stigma and encouraging earlier help-seeking are central to reducing avoidable illness and premature mortality among men.
Men’s Health Strategy call for evidence
To inform England’s first Men’s Health Strategy, the department launched a 12-week call for evidence on 24 April 2025.
More than 6,500 responses were received from members of the public, academics, health and social care professionals, employers and organisations.
The evidence provided insights into the most significant health challenges facing men, including barriers to accessing healthcare services and opportunities to improve engagement with services.
The findings informed the development of the Men’s Health Strategy, published on 19 November 2025, and will continue to inform future policy development.
Workplace cardiovascular disease health checks pilot
In 2024, the department launched a pilot to assess the feasibility and impact of delivering workplace cardiovascular disease (CVD) health checks.
Local authorities were invited to apply for funding from a £6.67 million grant programme through a competitive process.
The pilot aimed to reach people eligible for an NHS Health Check who are less likely to attend, including men and younger age groups.
During the reporting period, 96,707 health checks were delivered through the pilot.
Analysis of 88,340 checks showed that more than half of men aged 60 and over had at least a moderate risk of developing CVD within the next 10 years.
The pilot also reached significant numbers of people under 40 years old, who are not currently eligible for the NHS Health Check programme.
The evaluation will inform future policy decisions on how to deliver the NHS Health Check programme in the most effective and accessible way.
Disabilities
DHSC recognises that disabled people, autistic people and people with learning disabilities experience significant health inequalities. The department continues to progress work to address these disparities and improve health and care outcomes.
The 10 Year Health Plan highlights the need to tackle persistent inequalities experienced by disabled people, autistic people and people with learning disabilities, and to ensure services are inclusive, accessible and responsive to their needs.
Thalidomide Health Grant
DHSC continued to provide the Thalidomide Health Grant, a 4-year programme worth £10 million per year.
An independent evaluation commissioned through NIHR began in October 2024 and will run until March 2027. The evaluation will assess the health and care needs of people affected by thalidomide and the impact of funded support.
Statutory training on learning disability and autism
Under the Health and Care Act 2022, Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered providers must ensure their staff receive training on learning disability and autism that is appropriate to their role.
A statutory code of practice setting out how providers should meet this requirement was published and laid before Parliament, becoming final on 6 September 2025. The code identifies the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism (‘Oliver’s Training’) as the government’s recommended training package.
To support implementation, the government has provided funding for Oliver’s Training in the adult social care sector for 2025 to 2026. More than 3 million people have completed the e-learning element of the training programme.
Sexual health and reproductive health
DHSC supports sexual and reproductive health through policies that promote education, improve access to services and encourage informed decision making.
These actions aim to reduce sexually transmitted infections (STIs), improve wellbeing and support people to make informed choices about their health.
This work supports the 10 Year Health Plan’s focus on prevention and early intervention as the main contributors to improved population health. Accessible and inclusive sexual and reproductive health services also contribute to reducing health inequalities.
HIV strategy and stakeholder engagement
Between October 2024 and September 2025, the department worked with a wide range of stakeholders to develop a new HIV Action Plan.
Engagement during this period included workshops with more than 200 system partners and targeted sessions with over 50 voluntary and community sector organisations.
This engagement ensured that the voices of people most affected by HIV, including those across different protected characteristics, informed the development and delivery of the plan.
Expanding opt-out HIV testing in emergency departments
From September 2024 to October 2025, DHSC worked with NHS England to expand opt-out HIV testing in emergency departments across England.
Monitoring by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England during the reporting period shows that opt-out testing is successfully reaching heterosexual groups who are less likely to test for HIV in other healthcare settings.
National HIV prevention and testing campaigns
Between October 2024 and March 2025, the national HIV prevention programme continued to focus on communities at higher risk of HIV.
The programme supported National HIV Testing Week 2025, a campaign designed to normalise HIV testing and reduce stigma.
Campaign materials were tailored to reach groups most affected by HIV, including:
- gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM)
- Black African heterosexual men and women
- other underserved communities
Recent data from National HIV Testing Week indicates increased testing uptake. Requests for self-testing kits from Black African people have tripled since 2021, and there was a 41% increase in women ordering self-testing kits in 2024 compared with the previous year.
Increasing awareness and uptake of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)
During June to August 2025, the programme’s seasonal campaign focused for the first time on raising awareness of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
The campaign aimed to improve awareness, accessibility and uptake of PrEP among higher-risk populations, particularly GBMSM and Black African communities.
Evaluation showed that 66% of respondents sought further information about PrEP or discussed it with others as a direct result of campaign activity.
Women’s reproductive health evidence base
DHSC strengthened the evidence base on women’s reproductive health through the publication of initial findings from the DHSC-funded Women’s Reproductive Health Survey in January 2025.
The survey provides new insights into the reproductive health experiences of different groups of women and supports more informed and equitable policy development.
Sexual orientation and gender reassignment
DHSC supports people of all sexual orientations and gender identities by promoting inclusive healthcare policies and improving access to appropriate services.
This work aligns with the 10 Year Health Plan’s commitment to person-centred care and to reducing inequalities in access, experience and outcomes for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus other related identities (LGBT+).
Adult gender services review
In November 2024, NHS England commissioned the review of adult gender dysphoria clinics.
The review is examining the operation and delivery of gender dysphoria services, including the safety and effectiveness of care provided.
Waiting list wellbeing pilot scheme
Due to long waiting times for adult gender dysphoria services, the Secretary of State announced a wellbeing pilot at the LGBT+ Conference in September 2025.
The pilot supports individuals on waiting lists for adult gender dysphoria clinics in the South West of England by providing:
- mental health support
- access to community groups
- support before clinical appointments
LGBT+ Health Evidence Review
In April 2025, the Secretary of State commissioned an LGBT+ health evidence review, led by NHS England.
The review aims to identify barriers to healthcare experienced by LGBT+ people and examine wider aspects of LGBT+ health.
DHSC has supported this work by providing technical analytical support and contributing to oversight and accountability arrangements.
NHS numbers for children
In March 2025, the Secretary of State instructed NHS England to cease issuing new NHS numbers to children and young people under 18 years old where this would involve creating a new NHS record for gender identity purposes.
This decision followed concerns raised in the Sullivan Review and the Cass Review.
NHS England prepared an EqIA for the policy change and continues to have regard to the PSED.
Adult social care
DHSC plays a significant role in supporting the adult social care system. The department works to improve wellbeing and independence by promoting accessible, integrated care and supporting carers with resources and training.
This work supports the 10 Year Health Plan’s ambition to shift care closer to home, strengthen prevention and enable people to live independently for longer.
Adult social care nurse prescribing pilot
In July 2025, DHSC launched a pilot programme to fund nurses in adult social care to qualify as independent prescribers.
The policy aims to improve access to timely treatment for people receiving care in adult social care settings, including those with disabilities, complex needs and older people.
The policy is expected to benefit women in particular, as the nursing workforce is predominantly female. However, the benefits of the policy are expected to apply across all groups requiring care and support.
Update to the Adult Social Care Relative Needs Formula
In 2025, the department commissioned independent academics to review and update the Adult Social Care Relative Needs Formula (ASC RNF).
The formula is used to distribute funding to local authorities for adult social care.
Updating the formula aims to better align funding allocations with the geographic distribution of people likely to require adult social care. As the formula includes disability indicators for both younger and older adults, it is expected to benefit people with protected characteristics, particularly disabled people.
Disabled Facilities Grant
The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) supports local authorities in providing home adaptations for eligible older and disabled people.
Adaptations such as stairlifts, ramps and level-access showers help people live safely and independently in their homes.
Funding for the programme in 2024 to 2025 was £711 million, distributed to local authorities on 26 June 2025.
In early 2025, DHSC and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government completed a review of the DFG upper funding limit, including an updated PSED assessment. The findings are currently under consideration.
Fair pay agreements
Fair pay agreements aim to improve pay, terms and conditions in the adult social care workforce through sector-level collective bargaining.
The government has committed to introducing the first fair pay agreement by April 2028, supported by £500 million in funding for the 2028 to 2029 financial year.
During 2024 to 2025, DHSC carried out an equality analysis of the policy.
The adult social care workforce in England includes a higher proportion of women (79%) and workers who are Black, African, Caribbean or Black British (18%) than the UK workforce overall.
Policies that improve pay and conditions in the sector are therefore expected to have positive impacts on equality of opportunity for people with these protected characteristics.
National Cancer Plan
Throughout this period, the government engaged closely with stakeholders, including charities and patient representative organisations, to develop the National Cancer Plan for England. This engagement, through workshops and roundtables, included careful consideration of the aims of the PSED and how to particularly benefit those groups who currently face inequalities in cancer care or outcomes.
New Hospital Programme
In July 2024, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Chancellor announced a review of the New Hospital Programme.
Although the announcement preceded the reporting period, the review itself took place during 2024 to 2025.
An EqIA was completed in line with the PSED.
The main findings included:
- anticipated improvements to services for women and children through redesigned maternity, neonatal and paediatric facilities
- potential disproportionate impacts on groups such as women, older people, pregnant people and disabled people if delivery timetables are delayed
- confirmation that interim funding will support patient safety and maintenance of existing facilities
Overall, the programme is expected to advance equality of opportunity and improve patient experience as new hospital infrastructure is built.
NHS App
Following the publication of Inclusive digital healthcare - a framework for NHS action on digital inclusion and the 10 Year Health Plan, the NHS App established a programme to embed health equity across digital services.
The programme focuses on:
- integrating equity and digital inclusion into strategy, design and delivery
- improving the use of data to address health inequalities
- supporting system-wide adoption of the NHS App
- enabling digitally excluded communities to access digital health services
Implementation of the programme’s recommendations is underway.
During the reporting period, activity to increase NHS App use in deprived communities included policy alignment, user-centred design and targeted engagement.
National policy commitments in NHS England’s 2025 to 2026 priorities and operational planning guidance, the Reforming elective care for patients plan and the 10 Year Health Plan reinforce the need to address digital exclusion and ensure digital services remain accessible.
This includes providing tailored health information, improving accessibility for deaf, blind and visually impaired users, and supporting people with lower digital literacy.
The NHS App continues to be co-designed and user tested with people from deprived communities and inclusion groups. This work is carried out in partnership with charities, community organisations and specialist recruitment partners.
To support adoption, the NHS App team expanded support for public libraries through the National Health Literacy Partnership, improved staff training on digital inclusion and expanded the NHS App Ambassadors programme.
More than 2,200 ambassadors supported digitally excluded patients in community settings. Free mobile data was also provided through a partnership with the Good Things Foundation.
Equality in our workforce
This section sets out DHSC’s equality objectives and explains how workforce equality data is used to inform policy and initiatives. It covers DHSC as an employer, excluding its agencies, for the period 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025, with a snapshot of data as of 30 September 2025.
The focus is on workforce progress during the reporting period. Separate information on the gender pay gap is published independently.
Equality objectives 2023 to 2027
DHSC’s equality objectives for 2023 to 2027 ensure that advancing equality of opportunity and eliminating discrimination remain central to workforce policy and departmental operations.
Objective 1: attract, develop and retain diverse talent
Ambition: build a workforce drawn from diverse communities, backgrounds and locations.
Impact: a talented, diverse workforce that reflects the communities served, improving decision making and problem solving.
Objective 2: create belonging
Ambition: create a welcoming and inclusive environment.
Impact: staff feel confident bringing their authentic selves to work, improving engagement, capability and retention.
Objective 3: develop inclusive leaders
Ambition: strengthen leaders’ ability to promote diversity and inclusion.
Impact: leaders act as role models, increasing engagement and equitable access to development opportunities.
Objective 4: engage with diverse stakeholders
Ambition: use staff networks and lived experience to inform departmental policy.
Impact: policies and services are better designed to meet the needs of all communities.
Objective 5: promote awareness of PSED and health disparities
Ambition: increase workforce understanding of the PSED and health inequalities.
Impact: staff embed equity in policy and decision making, ensuring fair outcomes.
Diversity and inclusion at DHSC
The department strives to embed evidence-based and outcome-focused approaches in all that it does to progress D&I. DHSC continued to implement the departmental inclusion plan in 2024 to 2025. This inclusion plan has been built around its public sector equality duties and the objectives set out above. It covers a range of deliverables with clear evaluation measures, aligned with our departmental priorities, aimed at:
- attracting, developing and retaining diverse talent
- creating a sense of belonging in our workforce
- developing the capability of our leaders
- engaging with diverse groups and embedding diverse lived experiences in all our work (both corporate and external)
- increasing workforce awareness and understanding of the PSED and health disparities
The department closely monitors diversity data, which enables us to identify areas for improvement and measure progress in making DHSC a more inclusive workplace. The delivery of the departmental inclusion plan is led by the department’s Human Resources (HR) team with oversight from its executive committee.
Cross‑cutting analysis (senior pipeline, declaration and outcomes, and structural change)
Taken together, the data across characteristics shows a consistent pattern. DHSC has comparatively strong representation at entry and mid‑career grades, indicating healthy inflow pipelines across most characteristics. However, this progress does not yet translate into sustained improvements at senior levels. Across multiple data sets, representation in senior civil servants (SCS) is either static or lagging behind progress seen at lower grades, highlighting recurring challenges in the senior pipeline rather than in attraction alone.
The data also shows the importance of distinguishing between improved declaration rates and improved outcomes. In several areas, increased declaration has strengthened the quality and reliability of the data and enabled more transparent reporting. While this is a positive development, it does not in itself indicate improved representation or progression. Outcomes at senior grades therefore remain the primary test of progress, and in some cases have not improved despite stronger declaration.
Known risks arising from structural and workforce change also need to be considered. Periods of recruitment constraint, downsizing and organisational change may affect senior representation disproportionately, given the smaller size of SCS cohorts. The data suggests these factors may contribute to volatility in senior representation. However, evidence is limited and these impacts should be treated as hypotheses rather than definitive explanations. This reinforces the need for more diagnostic analysis of senior recruitment, progression and retention.
Overall, the bottom‑line assessment is that across most characteristics, DHSC has strong entry and mid‑career inflow pipelines, but our senior position is not yet where it needs to be. This is most evident for ethnicity, disability and social mobility, with ethnicity at SCS level showing a clear regression in the most recent year. Addressing these senior pipeline challenges remains a priority if progress at earlier grades is to be translated into sustained and equitable outcomes at leadership levels.
Progress this year: selected actions delivered
Workplace adjustments
The department is committed to increasing trust, encouraging proactive support and empowering disabled colleagues. In 2023, the department refreshed its workplace adjustments policy and procedures, following engagement and feedback from disabled staff network members. In 2024 to 2025 the policy continued to be embedded, ensuring that the changes positively affected staff in having a clear, simple route to requesting and implementing workplace adjustments, with a dedicated single point of contact to assist individual cases.
In early 2024, the department renewed its Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) Leader status for a 3-year period. As well as guaranteeing a priority interview and adjustments for applicants who have a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role, the scheme enables access to various external resources, demonstrating the department’s commitment and work to support disabled colleagues throughout the employee lifecycle.
National Inclusion Week and Speak Up Week
In September 2025, DHSC held a series of events for National Inclusion Week and Speak Up Week. This focused on a better understanding of D&I issues as well as the benefits of speaking up. The week also encouraged a closer connection and accountability from senior leadership through their work as D&I champions and sharing knowledge across the health organisations.
Enhancing workforce understanding of the PSED and health disparities
Equality objective 5 focuses on enhancing workforce awareness and understanding of the PSED and health disparities. The department’s intranet provides a comprehensive overview of the PSED, including practical guidance on its application.
Employees can easily access previous PSED reports and information about the equality objectives through straightforward searches, further supporting their ongoing learning and adherence to these crucial standards. Learning sessions covering the PSED and EqIAs were also held during National Inclusion Week in September 2025.
DHSC has made workforce data more accessible through the introduction of Power BI to senior management teams. This data visualisation software allows up to date information covering the protected characteristics to be viewed by senior leaders, with the results discussed as part of workforce planning conversations.
Supporting a talented and diverse workforce
During 2024 to 2025, the department continued to commit to creating a diverse workforce and to support talent through the delivery of several schemes which were actively encouraged and supported. These included:
- Beyond Boundaries - a 12-month talent programme offered to DHSC staff, from administrative officer to senior executive officer grades. It is designed to help participants develop the knowledge, skills and networks required to build a satisfying and effective career in the Civil Service
- Care Leavers Internship Scheme - offers care-experienced people aged 18 to 30 an 18-month placement in an executive officer role, contributing to our departmental commitment to social mobility. Internships are for a fixed term of 18 months, after which a permanent position can be considered
- Future Leadership Scheme (FLS) and Senior Leadership Scheme (SLS) - Cabinet Office runs cross-government 12-month accelerated development schemes for substantive grades 6 and 7 (FLS) and deputy directors and SCS1 (SLS), who aspire and have the potential to progress to the Civil Service’s most senior and critical leadership roles. Seventy-six per cent of those on FLS and SLS are female and successful candidates are further supported with the opportunity to apply to the additional Minority Ethnic Talent Association programme (META) or Disability Empowers Talent Association (DELTA) programme
- Catapult - a Cabinet Office run scheme matching mentees from lower socioeconomic backgrounds (administrative assistant grade to senior executive officer) with a senior leader mentor (grade 7 and above) who offers support and guidance
- Autism Exchange Internship Programme - a Cabinet Office run scheme giving young people with autism the chance to experience the workplace and gain valuable skills. It also supports potential employers with advice and insight about autism to encourage them to recruit and support people with autism
- Diversity Internship Scheme - a cross Civil Service scheme providing participants real responsibility across a variety of rewarding government department roles. Each scheme provides structured learning, on-the-job coaching and mentoring, and a career path in a government profession. Many of them offer the chance to study for a professional qualification
In addition to the schemes in April 2025, DHSC, in line with the 2025 to 2026 Cabinet Office SCS performance management policy, introduced the minimum standards for all SCS which included performance assessment based on SCS colleagues taking a data-driven, evidence-led and delivery-focused approach to D&I. It is a requirement for SCS to take personal responsibility for delivering D&I strategies by embedding D&I considerations in all decision making and delivery.
Bullying, harassment and discrimination
In addition to the deliverables outlined in the departmental inclusion plan, DHSC continues to focus on ways to reduce and manage levels of bullying, harassment and discrimination (BHD) across the department. This includes:
- regular engagement with diversity staff network chairs on diverse groups’ lived experience of BHD within the department, and using this insight to feed into relevant workstreams
- delivering a bespoke DHSC People Policies Programme aimed at upskilling line managers in understanding and working with staff to implement DHSC people policies in a fair, consistent and effective manner, providing training on supporting the formal processes on disciplinary and dispute resolution and BHD
- continued work to improve departmental use of the cross Civil Service Mediation Service, as a preventative method to tackling BHD. This included ongoing communications on accessing the service through the HR team
- our leadership development programme to SCS (director general one-to-one coaching, director group coaching and deputy director peer networks), which provides space for leaders to discuss their leadership challenges and build their capability as leaders, including their ability to lead fairly and inclusively
Workforce summary
Representation data
The data presented in this report shows information relating to civil servants in DHSC by protected characteristic on a headcount basis. Total headcounts were:
- 30 September 2022: 4,020
- 30 September 2023: 3,320
- 30 September 2024: 3,550
- 30 September 2025: 3,950
For compliance with data protection laws, these values have been rounded to the nearest 10.
About the data
Information is presented on:
- age
- caring responsibility
- disability
- ethnicity
- gender identity
- religion or belief
- sex
- sexual orientation
- social mobility
The representation rate refers to those who have declared a specific diversity group as a percentage of all those who have declared a diversity characteristic.
Age and sex data is collected and recorded during the onboarding process by the HR team, while the other information is self-declared. We continue to encourage individuals to voluntarily share their personal diversity information and promote the benefits of gathering this through communications and new starter induction. However, not every member of staff is willing to share their details, and the tables below only include colleagues who have done so.
The following principles have been applied when analysing and presenting this data:
- percentages have been rounded to the nearest one decimal percentage point
- for compliance with data protection laws:
- where the declaration rate is below 50%, the figure has been suppressed, indicated by ‘c’
- where the absolute number of people in a category is between 1 and 5, this has been suppressed, indicated by ‘x’
- grades have been grouped as follows:
- senior civil servants (SCS) include permanent secretary, director general, director, and deputy director
- grade 6 (G6) and grade 7 (G7) have been grouped
- higher executive officer (HEO) and senior executive officer (SEO) have been grouped
- executive officer (EO)
- administrative officer (AO)
- other - this includes senior medical leaders and staff whose grade was not captured at the time of reporting
Age
Individuals aged 30 to 39 make up the highest proportion of the department’s workforce (32.6%). This is an increase of 4.9 percentage points since 2022. The largest decrease in proportion of the department’s workforce by age group was 18 to 29, which decreased by 3.4 percentage points over the same time period. Those 60 or over increased by 1.2 percentage points since 2022 to 5.7%.
Table 1: proportion by age grouping and from 2022 to 2025
| Age group | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 to 29 | 28.7% | 23.4% | 26.3% | 25.3% |
| 30 to 39 | 27.7% | 28.6% | 30.5% | 32.6% |
| 40 to 49 | 20.7% | 21.9% | 20.7% | 20.2% |
| 50 to 59 | 18.4% | 20.3% | 17.6% | 16.2% |
| 60 and over | 4.5% | 5.8% | 4.9% | 5.7% |
Caring responsibility
From 2024, the definition for caring responsibility changed to anyone who looks after, or gives any help or support to, anyone because they have long-term physical or mental health conditions or illnesses, or problems related to old age. Declaration rates have improved to be able to show levels of all grade groups except for AO and other. SCS had the highest proportion who made a declaration and reported having caring responsibilities, at 26.4% in 2025.
Table 2: proportion of those with a caring responsibility by responsibility level from 2022 to 2025
| Grade | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCS | c | 54.0% | 27.0% | 26.4% |
| G6 and G7 | c | c | c | 20.2% |
| HEO and SEO | c | c | c | 15.3% |
| EO | c | c | c | 14.7% |
| AO | c | c | c | x |
| Other | c | c | c | c |
| DHSC average | c | c | c | 18.2% |
Disability
The year 2024 is the first point at which declaration rates for disability reached the reporting threshold, which continued into 2025. This strengthens our ability to assess outcomes, particularly by grade. Of the total people in each grade group with known disability status, HEO and SEO had the highest proportion who declared a disability or long‑term health condition (23.7%). At senior grades, disability representation remains materially lower: the SCS rate is 11.0% in 2025 (up 2.2 percentage points year‑on‑year from 8.8% in 2024). While the direction of travel is positive, the gap between mid‑career and senior representation persists and indicates that progress at senior levels is not yet where it needs to be.
Table 3: proportion of those with a declared disability by responsibility level from 2022 to 2025
| Grade | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCS | c | c | 8.8% | 11.0% |
| G6 and G7 | c | c | 19.0% | 21.3% |
| HEO and SEO | c | c | 22.0% | 23.7% |
| EO | c | c | 20.6% | 19.2% |
| AO | c | c | x | x |
| Other | c | c | x | x |
| DHSC average | c | c | 19.7% | 21.4% |
Ethnicity
The overall proportion of staff who declared as being from an ethnic minority background has remained broadly stable since 2022. However, at senior grades the trend is more concerning. The proportion of SCS who declared as being from an ethnic minority background decreased by 0.7 percentage points between 2022 (9.6%) and 2025 (8.9%), noting an increase in 2024 (10.3%) before falling again the following year. This regression at SCS is an important finding and is not offset by wider improvements at EO, and HEO and SEO grades.
The data suggests that wider factors - such as recruitment constraints and periods of downsizing - may have contributed to volatility in SCS representation, because senior populations are smaller and therefore more sensitive to workforce changes. However, evidence remains limited, and we cannot attribute causality on the basis of this data set alone. This underlines the need for more diagnostic analysis of senior progression, movement and recruitment pathways ahead of the next report.
Table 4: proportion of staff who declared as being from an ethnic minority (excluding White minorities) by responsibility level from 2022 to 2025
| Grade | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCS | 9.6% | 9.2% | 10.3% | 8.9% |
| G6 and G7 | 16.4% | 14.6% | 15.2% | 16.1% |
| HEO and SEO | 25.5% | 25.4% | 27.4% | 27.7% |
| EO | 34.6% | 35.9% | 36.8% | 38.0% |
| AO | 37.0% | 42.1% | 36.8% | 37.9% |
| Other | 0.0% | 25.9% | 34.8% | 41.7% |
| DHSC average | 21.3% | 19.8% | 21.4% | 22.2% |
Gender identity
The overall declaration rate for gender identity has increased by 16 percentage points since 2022 to 67%. Of those, the number who identify as a different gender than assigned at birth has remained low, at 0.5%. Of the total people in each grade group with a known identity, HEO and SEO had the highest proportion who declared as identifying as a different gender than assigned at birth at 0.8% in 2025, up from 0.4% in 2022.
Table 5: proportion of those who identify as a different gender than assigned at birth by responsibility level from 2022 to 2025
| Grade | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCS | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| G6 and G7 | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| HEO and SEO | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| EO | c | c | x | x |
| AO | c | c | x | x |
| Other | c | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| DHSC average | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0.5% |
Religion or belief
Of those who have declared a characteristic, EOs have the highest proportion who have declared to have a religion or belief, at 59.0%, and continue to be the only grade group to have an increase in proportion of those who declare a religion, up 5.8 percentage points since 2022. AOs had the lowest proportion of those who had a declared a religion or belief at 36.0%, down 28.0 percentage points from 2022. However, due to a low number of AOs in the department, the large percentage point difference is common within this grade.
Table 6: proportion of those with a known religion or belief who declare to have a religion or belief by responsibility level from 2022 to 2025
| Grade | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCS | 45.1% | 43.9% | 44.0% | 43.4% |
| G6 and G7 | 40.5% | 40.3% | 38.8% | 38.4% |
| HEO and SEO | 46.6% | 47.3% | 45.9% | 44.2% |
| EO | 53.2% | 59.9% | 57.7% | 59.0% |
| AO | 64.0% | c | 60.0% | 36.0% |
| Other | x | 66.7% | 61.1% | 55.6% |
| DHSC average | 44.7% | 44.9% | 43.6% | 42.7% |
Sex
Since 2022, the proportion of females in the department has remained stable at just below 65%. Since 2022 we have seen the proportion of female:
- SCS increase 1.9 percentage points to 57.6%
- AOs increase by 5.5 percentage points to 65.9%
- EOs fall by 4.5 percentage points to 67.3%
Table 7: proportion of females by responsibility level from 2022 to 2025
| Grade | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCS | 55.7% | 56.4% | 56.1% | 57.6% |
| G6 and G7 | 63.1% | 63.3% | 63.4% | 63.1% |
| HEO and SEO | 66.3% | 65.2% | 67.5% | 67.1% |
| EO | 71.8% | 70.5% | 66.1% | 67.3% |
| AO | 60.4% | 64.9% | 63.0% | 65.9% |
| Other | x | 69.4% | 64.3% | 76.9% |
| DHSC average | 64.7% | 64.1% | 64.7% | 64.7% |
Sexual orientation
Since 2022, of those whose sexual orientation is known, the proportion who declared as ‘gay or lesbian’, ‘bisexual’, ‘asexual’ or ‘other sexual orientation’, grouped as LGBO, has remained stable, reporting at 11.5% in 2025. The proportion in all groups with a declaration rate over 50% has increased since 2022, with the largest increase being in the SCS, increasing by 1.1 percentage points to 10.4%.
Table 8: proportion of those whose sexual orientation is known who identify as LGBO by responsibility level from 2022 to 2025
| Grade | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCS | 9.3% | 12.2% | 10.7% | 10.4% |
| G6 and G7 | 9.3% | 8.7% | 9.1% | 9.9% |
| HEO and SEO | 12.8% | 12.1% | 11.9% | 12.9% |
| EO | 12.4% | 11.1% | 13.0% | 13.1% |
| AO | x | x | x | x |
| Other | x | x | x | 0.0% |
| DHSC average | 11.0% | 10.4% | 10.7% | 11.5% |
Social mobility
Overall declaration rates for socioeconomic background have increased since 2022, reaching 60% in 2025. EOs had the highest proportion of those who declared coming from a lower socioeconomic background in 2025 (44.4%). At SCS, however, representation remains the lowest and has not improved overall: standing at 24.4% in 2025, down 0.9 percentage points since 2022, and down from a high point of 27.0% in 2024. This suggests that, despite comparatively strong pipelines at junior and mid‑grades, senior progression for colleagues from lower socioeconomic backgrounds remains a challenge.
Table 9: proportion of those who declare as coming from a low socioeconomic background by responsibility level from 2022 to 2025
| Grade | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCS | 25.3% | 23.1% | 27.0% | 24.4% |
| G6 and G7 | 29.9% | 30.1% | c | 28.1% |
| HEO and SEO | 32.1% | 33.2% | c | 32.1% |
| EO | c | c | c | 44.4% |
| AO | c | c | c | c |
| Other | c | c | c | x |
| DHSC average | 31.5% | 31.5% | c | 30.7% |