# REVEALED: Treasury abandons numeracy to boost diversity

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/coffee-house-shots-496891/revealed-treasury-abandons-numeracy-to-boost-diversity
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/coffee-house-shots-496891/revealed-treasury-abandons-numeracy-to-boost-diversity.md
Podcast: [Coffee House Shots](https://stenobird.com/podcast/coffee-house-shots-496891)
Published: 2026-07-03T03:01:00+00:00
Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/coffee-house-shots/episodes/revealed-treasury-abandons-numeracy-to-boost-diversity
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68359028e1abc4be6b032cd1/e/6a469bb00069388b7ac6723a/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=e8Ux9QpVvizXJBGYJkqUKEZ8OshR9NgcrdzDmNJhRVI
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/coffee-house-shots-496891/episodes/revealed-treasury-abandons-numeracy-to-boost-diversity
Duration seconds: 719

## Resource

A scoop by The Spectator’s news editor has taken Westminster by storm this week, after it emerged that the Treasury had ditched the numerical reasoning test for its high-flying graduate scheme. Oscar Edmondson speaks to the story’s author, John Connolly, and Ameer Kotecha, a former senior diplomat and now chief executive of the Centre for Government Reform, about how deeply anti-meritocratic hiring practices are rooted in the civil service. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Henry Lloyd. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more. For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts . Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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## Transcript

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