Recommendation 12

For more than a decade, skilled cyber security professionals have been in short supply and high demand nationally and globally. Government has not paid market–rate salaries for digital and cyber skills, which has been 11 C&AG’s Report, paras 1.7, 1.10 12 Q 5 13 Q 6 14 C&AG’s Report, para 12 15 Q 8 16 Qq 10–11 17 Qq 8–9 18 Q 8 9 a significant barrier to recruitment and retention.19 This Committee has often reported on how this shortfall of digital skills has affected the work of government.20 The Cabinet Office and DSIT told us that they have made progress by significantly expanding the civil service’s digital, data and technology profession. They stated this included 23,000 people, which was around 6% of the total civil service, and that they aimed to increase this to 10%.21 In correspondence provided after our evidence session, the Cabinet Office explained that this would involve replacing 7,000 contractors and consultancy employees with civil servants, which it claimed could result in annual savings of up to £500 million.22