Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 12
24th Report - Government cyber resilience
Published 9 May 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Government cyber resilience All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
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
From: Public Accounts Committee, 24th Report - Government cyber resilience (HC 643), 9 May 2025
Government response
Latest Treasury Minutes progress report to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty-fourth Report of Session 2024-26
The government responded to the whole report on 4 June 2026.
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty-fourth report from Session 2024-26
Published 18 September 2025.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government "agrees with the Committee's recommendation" in each of the six areas, setting target implementation dates between winter 2025 and autumn 2026.
- On the evolving threat, the government agrees, notes responsibility has moved to DSIT, and says DSIT will publish an implementation plan in winter 2025 and write to the Committee "in one year's time".
- On cyber skills, it "acknowledges the ongoing cyber skills gaps" and says that "Early next year" DSIT will set how many anticipated vacancies its central initiatives will address and how it will assist departments with the remaining gaps.
- On accountability and funding, DSIT will set expectations for departments to appoint a board member with cyber security and digital resilience expertise, and is "working with HMT on mechanisms for protecting budgets" for cyber and legacy remediation programmes.
- On arm's-length bodies and supply chains, it says departments remain "ultimately accountable for the risk" and that DSIT will "assure and enforce" that Accounting Officers are meeting this responsibility.