TALENTED working-class youngsters will get a leg up to join the Civil Service under plans unveiled by the government today.

Eligibility criteria for Whitehall internships will now be limited to students from “lower socio-economic backgrounds” and based on which occupations their parents held when they were 14.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the minister responsible for Civil Service reform Pat McFadden said that Whitehall needed to reflect the broader community.

“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 said.

“Government makes better decisions when it represents and understands the people we serve.”

The scheme will open for applications from students who are in their final two years at university this October, with the first tranche of placements expected in summer 2026. 

Public and Commercial Services union general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “We welcome the government’s plan to get more working-class people working in the Civil Service.

“But the Civil Service is struggling to recruit and retain staff because of endemic low pay. Attracting working-class talent must go hand in hand with pay restoration.”

The move comes after the government announced plans to move thousands more civil servants out of London to “radically reform the state.”

In May, it said it would cut the number of civil servants working in London by 12,000 and shift jobs to a series of new regional “campuses” across the country, one in Manchester focused on digital innovation and AI, and another in Aberdeen on energy.

Other roles will be created in Birmingham, Leeds, Cardiff, Glasgow, Darlington, Newcastle and Tyneside, Sheffield, Bristol, Edinburgh, Belfast and York, with the changes expected to bring £729 million to the local economy by 2030.

The changes will also see 11 government office buildings in London close, including one of its largest Westminster sites. Mr McFadden said at the time that a “substantial number of roles” would be relocated in order to save £94m in lease costs.