Recommendation 14

The National Audit Office (NAO) criticised previous delivery failures in cyber security in 2019, finding that the Government risked making the same mistakes with its subsequent National Cyber Strategy. The Government’s Performance Framework for the 2022 NCS appears to be a reasonably rigorous approach to monitoring delivery, but its latest Progress Report sheds little light on whether it will achieve the NCS’s ambitious objectives, particularly on disrupting and deterring offenders. Given the criticality of the NCS to the UK’s national security and prosperity, it is vital that the Government’s progress in implementing the NCS is exposed to external scrutiny. We recommend that the NAO reviews the Government’s progress in implementing the National Cyber Strategy through the National Cyber Programme and associated departmental activities, and the effectiveness of the NCS Performance Framework at monitoring and driving delivery.