Civil servants work for the Government. They are neutral and recruited on merit, and are not political party workers. They typically remain in their jobs even if the country’s leadership changes. Civil servants do the work to implement policies that are decided on by government ministers.

The executive decisions of government ministers are implemented by the Civil Service. Civil servants are employees of the Crown and not of the British parliament. Civil servants also have some traditional and statutory responsibilities which to some extent protect them from being used for the political advantage of the party in power.

The Civil Service provides services directly to people all over the country, including: paying benefits and pensions running prisons issuing driving licences The work civil servants do touches all aspects of life in the UK, from education and the environment, to transport and defence.