STORY
The Government is facing mounting criticism over its decision to restrict civil service internships exclusively to students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, a move that ministers say is designed to create a more representative Whitehall but which opponents argue amounts to discrimination by background. Under new rules set to be introduced from 2026, the main internship scheme for university students will be limited to those whose parents held certain types of jobs when they were 14. Ministers say this will help diversify the civil service and open up opportunities for young people who might otherwise be overlooked.
The scheme, which pays £430 a week and provides up to eight weeks of experience inside government departments, will now explicitly exclude students from middle and upper-income households regardless of their academic credentials or suitability for the role.
Conservative shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood (in photo) slammed the move as “leftist social engineering”, warning it sends the message that unless a young person comes from the ‘right’ background, they need not apply. “No young person should be told they’re not welcome based solely on their parents’ profession,” Wood said. “We believe in opportunity based on what you can do, not where you come from.”
The change has been led by Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden, who defended the move, saying the civil service must reflect the country it serves. “Government makes better decisions when it represents and understands the people we serve” he said. But critics argue the new system risks replacing one kind of unfairness with another and suggested that rather than broadening access based on merit the reform introduces a rigid social filter, effectively barring thousands of students on the basis of their family background and damaging community cohesion.