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Senior Civil Service

Volume 406: debated on Wednesday 11 June 2003

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To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to his answer of 21 May 2003, Official Report, column 774W, if he will list by Government Department the number and proportion of posts in the Senior Civil Service for which sitting an entrance exam and passing it is a compulsory element for recruitment into the Department. [118037]

There is no corporate requirement that applicants to Senior Civil Service posts sit entrance exams.With the exception of the most senior posts, recruitment to the Senior Civil Service is the responsibility of individual Government Departments and agencies. Departments are free to choose the selection methods that best suit their individual needs.Information is not held centrally on the specific methods of recruitment used for individual posts, but those most often used by Departments include job specific interviews, which address the competencies needed for the post, and/or use of competency-based assessment centres. At assessment centres, applicants may be interviewed, asked to give presentations, or complete job-related exercises.