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Department for Work and Pensions: Equality

Asked by Rupert LoweRestore BritainDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled Answered 9 February 2026UIN 106721

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many civil servants employed by their Department work in roles primarily focused on (a) transgender policy, (b) diversity, (c) equity and (d) inclusion; and at what annual salary cost.

Answered by Andrew Western

Dedicated EDI staff help DWP comply with equality legislation, making sure that vulnerable customers are supported. Proactive EDI initiatives can help prevent issues related to discrimination or exclusion, reducing grievances and costly disputes.

As of December 2025, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) employed 84,373.2 paid full-time equivalent (FTE) staff. There are no roles within the Department that are primarily focused on transgender policy.

Roles considered to be primarily focused on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) are as follows:

  • 1 x Grade 6 – 0.86 FTE
  • 8 x Grade 7 – 8 FTE
  • 6 x Senior Executive Officers (SEO) – 5.3 FTE

This constitutes a total of 14.16 FTE staff, which represents approximately 0.02% of the Department’s total Paid FTE workforce as being EDI focused.

The annual expenditure associated with the salaries for staff whose roles are primarily focused on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (based on People & Capability Annual Average Salary and including employer pension and NI contributions) amounts to approximately £1,121,565.

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