Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Rejected
Undertake regular skills audits to identify and address capability gaps across all staff levels.
Conclusion
Effective regulation will require Ofcom and the Department to sustain the skills and people they need in a fast-moving and highly technical sector. To date, Ofcom has successfully recruited the skills it requires, recruiting people from industry and a wide variety of other sources. This has increased Ofcom’s headcount by nearly 50%. Ofcom has taken the opportunity to reshape itself more widely and is recruiting non-executive directors to ensure its board is appropriately diverse with relevant technical and online safety expertise to provide effective oversight and challenge. Ofcom has already experienced staff turnover, with some staff returning to industry, but is confident in its ability to attract the necessary talent. Preparedness for online safety regulation 7 The Department recognises that it also needs staff with the right skills in this area, and that it needs to be constantly evolving its own capabilities to deal with the risks and opportunities arising from the fast-changing landscape of online harms. Recommendation 5: Both the Department and Ofcom need to determine how often they should undertake regular skills audits to identify gaps, including at senior and board level, to ensure that they continue to have the right people with the right skills in place. They should complete an initial audit within the first year following the Online Safety Bill becoming law.
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the recommendation, stating that both Ofcom and the department already have effective half-yearly and yearly workforce planning processes, respectively, to ensure they have the necessary skills and capabilities. Ofcom also has a systematic horizon scanning function and the department has delegated learning budgets to assess skill needs.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. The department and Ofcom agree with the Committee that they must have the right skills and people in place, to regulate effectively. Both organisations already have effective workforce planning processes, which ensure that the required skills are in place, fulfilling the intent of this recommendation. Ofcom’s workforce planning runs half yearly. The online safety-specific detail of this workforce plan feeds into its online safety learning and development provision, as well as recruitment pipeline considerations, ensuring capability and capacity is proactively built as required. Ofcom reports to Parliament annually through its Annual Report and Accounts on its overall strategy for people, skills and capabilities to meet its remit. Ofcom’s Strategy and Research, Online Technology, and Online Safety leadership teams together with the input of wider academic external partners work to ensure Ofcom keeps abreast of technology developments and understands the implications of these in regard to knowledge, skills and approaches to ways of working. More widely, Ofcom has launched a systematic horizon scanning function to understand the impact of technology developments over the next decade. The department runs a yearly business planning process through which directorates specify and agree the headcount, roles and specialisms required to deliver their functions effectively. Directorates including the Online Harms directorate hold delegated learning budgets and regularly assess particular skills needs. Departmental non-executives are appointed through a regulated public appointments process. The department will shortly announce a new cohort of non-executives who will support the board for a term of 3 years.