Gordon Brown’s decision to nationalise some of Britain’s biggest high street banks will push the number of public sector employees to more than six million for the first time.

In some parts of the country almost one in three workers will be employed by the State, as bankers and financiers join nurses, doctors and council workers on the government payroll.

Overnight 233,000 staff from the Royal Bank of Scotland, 70,000 from Lloyds TSB, 65,000 from HBOS and 3,035 from Bradford & Bingley will effectively have a new boss. They will join the 6,500 who have already come over from Northern Rock and push total numbers of public sector staff to 6.12 million.

The widening public sector is now sprouting tentacles in a number of new areas, as construction companies, advertising agencies and management consultants turn to the State for gainful employment.

The Government’s own advertising bill is now more than £156 million, up 15.4 per cent from 2006-07. Its spending on communications and information is up 15 per cent to £391 million.

Campaigns such as army recruitment and completing tax returns for Revenue & Customs are now contracted out to more than a dozen leading advertising companies such as Freud Communications, M&C Saat-chi, Publicis, BBH, and Cheetham Bell JWT.

At the same time construction companies are knocking at the door of housing associations and town halls to try to get contracts for building social homes as the private housing market collapses.

The BBC and Channel 4 make up 23,000 and 810 public sector jobs respectively although both are now shedding posts. Transport for London employs 20,000, while Network Rail employs more than 30,000 staff.

Despite big efforts to cut down the number of civil servants there are still more than 500,000 in the United Kingdom and the number of nurses, teachers and doctors has rocketed as billions have been pumped into public services.

Regional variations show that Northern Ireland employs the highest percentage of public sector staff, with 29 per cent working for the State. In Wales 23.6 per cent of employees work in the public sector, while in Scotland this is marginally less at 22.5 per cent.

In the North East the figures are also comparatively high with 23 per cent working for town halls, hospitals and schools.

But the proportion drops considerably farther south. Only 17 per cent of the workforce are public sector staff in the South East, the East and the East Midlands, and 18.9 per cent in London.

In 2007 all UK regions had an increased number of people working in the public sector compared with 1999, although there have been some drops in the past two years, particularly in the Midlands.

The City could now be bidding with Northern Ireland to be home to the greatest number of public servants.

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