About us
Source: gov.uk (2025-08-15)

Government People Group (GPG) is the strategic and functional centre for the Government People Function and human resources (HR) in the Civil Service.

Government People Group

Government People Group (GPG) is the strategic and functional centre for the Government People Function and human resources (HR) in the Civil Service.

Led by the Government Chief People Officer (https://www.gov.uk/government/people/fiona-ryland), we enable and improve the delivery of recruitment, training, workplace policy, HR strategy and management excellence to over half a million civil servants.

From recruitment to retirement, GPG is at the forefront of working with ministers and departments to ensure the Civil Service is equipped to deliver for UK citizens. Some of our work includes:
- Leading on cross-government HR strategy, organisation design and workforce planning.
- Procuring and delivering training and development schemes for the Civil Service.
- Delivering recruitment services, guidance and expertise to departments.
- Coordinating and advising departments on pay, pensions and employee policy.
- Setting standards and guidance for line managers and senior civil servants.
- Coordinating the implementation of the Shared Services Strategy for Government (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-shared-services-strategy-for-government).
- Enhancing employee experience to promote an engaged workforce and culture of performance excellence.
Civil Service People Plan 2024-27

A shared aim of all civil servants working in the Government People Function is to support the delivery of the Civil Service People Plan 2024-2027 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-people-plan-2024-2027).

The People Plan outlines five People Priorities for the Civil Service, alongside 45 commitments to address our most pressing and immediate people challenges. Departmental plans and strategies also align with and contribute towards the People Plan.

Government Skills

Government Skills (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/government-skills-and-curriculum-unit) design, deliver, and improve training, knowledge and networks across the Civil Service and public sector.

Strategy, Policy and Partnerships and Learning Frameworks and Services

Defining and providing a cross-Civil Service curriculum, including the internal delivery of parliamentary capability training. This enables over 450,000 civil servants to have access to high-quality training relevant to Civil Service needs and creates ways for the professions, functions and departments to contribute to the wider government campus.

College for National Security (CfNS)

The College for National Security aims to upskill the sector’s workforce, build resilient networks amongst professionals, and provide a platform for international collaboration. Its priority purpose is to provide strategic training for policy experts in the height of their careers and to ensure they have the latest science and technology skills.

Fast Stream & Emerging Talent (FSET)

Helping to build a fairer government, levelling up opportunities for all citizens to become qualified and experienced civil servants from entry to senior leadership. This covers school outreach, T-Levels, apprenticeships, internships and the flagship Fast Stream (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-service-fast-stream) leadership development programme.

Leadership College for Government

The Leadership College for Government (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/leadership-college-for-government) equips public and Civil Service leaders with the skills, knowledge, and networks to solve today’s most complex problems. Through a series of programmes and events, the college connects and develops individuals who have potential to take on the most senior roles in government.

Functional Strategy, Performance and Capability

Functional Strategy, Performance and Capability (FSPC) leads on supporting HR across government by ensuring that the HR profession continues to develop its people and is held accountable to the highest standards.

Workforce Strategy, Data and Planning (WSDP)

Strengthening links between people strategy, data and workforce planning. The team looks after things like HR governance, departmental engagement, insights, and related strategies, while also leading on Strategic Workforce Planning through capability building and directly partnering departments.

HR Functional Strategy, Capability and Talent

Leading on functional strategy and supporting the professional members of HR across government by delivering continuous improvements in HR professional capability and talent. Ensuring that HR professional skills are built and maintained to provide effective strategic support and operational services across the Civil Service, and to the highest standards.

Corporate Services

Delivering internal services to ensure Government People Group is well-governed, compliant, and enabled to deliver its committed outcomes efficiently. Services provided include Financial Management, HR, Business Management, PMO and Portfolio, Communications, Policy and Strategy, Business Case Development, and Information Assurance.

Senior Talent and Resourcing

Senior Talent and Resourcing (STaR) coordinates the selection and hiring of the most senior staff in government: Director Generals and Permanent Secretaries.

Director General Workforce

Delivering end-to-end talent and career management for Director Generals, ensuring that the Civil Service has the right people and capabilities in place to respond to complex leadership challenges.

Permanent Secretary HR

Delivering excellent HR policies and practice in support of Permanent Secretaries, ensuring that the Civil Service has the highest calibre of senior leaders and that they can perform at their best.

Line Management Capability

Line Management Capability (LMC) transforms how we strengthen, develop and support line managers across government.

Improving line management is a key part of the wider commitment to Civil Service modernisation and reform. Line managers play a pivotal role in enhancing organisational performance and productivity, and thus it is essential that the conditions are created to allow line managers, individuals and teams to thrive and excel.

By defining good-practice standards and through the development of training and induction courses, the programme seeks to expand training and support for line managers at all stages of their careers. These tools will help line managers develop in their roles and upgrade the overall efficiency and effectiveness of teams across government and the Civil Service.

Shared Services for Government

Shared Services for Government (SSfG) oversees the Shared Services Strategy for Government (PDF, 1,632KB) (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/967649/Shared-Services-Strategy-for-Government-March-2021.pdf), a strategy to transform and modernise the back office of government by replacing end-of-life, legacy IT systems.

The team works as a centre of expertise across departments and clusters, providing technical, system design, business engagement, and policy and thought leadership. The strategy seeks to consolidate hundreds of different IT systems across government under five modern, cloud-based systems.

This will deliver smarter, cheaper, faster systems, and processes to create a synchronised and cost-effective Civil Service. It will harness modern technology to deliver greater value for the taxpayer, improve the experience for users, and increase opportunities through standardised data and greater policy alignment.

Recruitment

Recruitment works with partners across the Civil Service to deliver award-winning expert recruitment services, support, advice and policy to enable the Government to put the right people in the right roles.

Government Recruitment Service (GRS)

The Government Recruitment Service (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/government-recruitment-service) delivers recruitment services and operations with select partners across the civil service, enabling the recruitment and selection of capable civil servants for roles within government. Providing marketing, branding, operational delivery and expertise in recruitment processes, the GRS currently delivers 70% of recruitment demand across over 25 government departments.

Recruitment and Resourcing Expertise (RaRE)

Enhancing attraction, recruitment and interchange practices within the Civil Service by providing evidence-based recruitment policy and good practice. By collaborating with departments, the team researches, innovates and facilitates policies which support both recruitment and secondment processes.

Going Forward into Employment (GFiE)

Providing over 20 life chance recruitment schemes by using innovative approaches to recruit people from a wide range of backgrounds, making the Civil Service more representative of the country it serves. Primarily focussing on people who face barriers to employment such as prison leavers, veterans, care leavers and carers, the team offers leadership and support to those who wish to enter public service, providing experiences that can improve their life chances and opportunities.

Pay, Policy, and Pensions

Pay, Policy, and Pensions leads on strategy and coordination across Civil Service pay, pensions and employee policy, providing advice to all parts of the Civil Service including ministers, Civil Service leaders, HM Treasury, Government Functions and departments.

Civil Service and Royal Mail Pensions

Operating as the effective ‘Scheme Manager’ for the Civil Service and Royal Mail pension schemes which provide pension services to over 2 million members. The team oversees and directs third party suppliers in the administration of these schemes to ensure strategic objectives are understood and met, including by procuring future administrative services through the Future Services Programme.

Pay & Policy

These teams develop and deliver a focused, modern employment framework and effective policies, processes and practices that support each stage of the Employee Lifecycle and champions strategic initiatives that assist in building a skilled, innovative and ambitious Civil Service. It covers: Reward Services and Strategy, TUPE and MoG consultancy services, the Civil Service Employment Framework; Employee Policy and Services and national Trade Union relations.

Employee Experience and People Performance

Employee Experience & People Performance has a key role in promoting an engaged workforce and culture of performance excellence.

Inclusive Practice

Inclusive Practice seeks to harness the performance benefits that diversity and an inclusive approach can offer by creating a productive environment in which everybody feels valued, their talents are fully utilised, and organisational priorities are delivered.

Organisation Development Practice

Organisational Development Practice takes a systemic approach to establishing structural, cultural and strategic alignment across the Government People Group. This is key to facilitate organisational success and enable sustained organisational performance through the involvement of our people.