Select committee: Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Recommendation 14
Tenth Report - Connected tech: smart or sinister?
Published 7 Aug 2023
Paragraph 116
Addressed to Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee Connected tech: smart or sinister? All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We are concerned about the ongoing skills shortage, as recognised in both the Government and industry’s regular reporting on cybersecurity skills in the labour market, and believe that the shortage will be exacerbated further as the product safety regime comes into force. We support industry’s calls for the Government to do more to address this issue. The Government should also take steps to support the availability of free courses across the country, encourage more professionals to become cybersecurity educators, improve the provision of core professional skills among the existing workforce and incentivise industry to improve hiring practices and retention rates.
From: Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Tenth Report - Connected tech: smart or sinister? (HC 157), paragraph 116, 7 August 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 24 November 2023.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it "partially accept[s] the majority" of the Committee's conclusions and recommendations, and where it has not accepted them it points to existing or planned actions.
- On the Age-Appropriate Design Code, it agrees, stating it "will ensure" forthcoming data protection reforms "do not undermine any aspect" of the code, with the ICO to update guidance once the Bill receives Royal Assent.
- On data protection reform and ICO governance, it does not agree, saying reforms are "compatible with maintaining free flow of personal data from Europe" and that the Statement of Strategic Priorities will be subject to parliamentary oversight.
- On privacy interfaces, it partially accepts, does not agree with being "overly prescriptive", and will engage interest groups "in the months ahead" on simpler and more granular cookie choices.
- On product security, it partially accepts, saying there is no current evidence it would be proportionate to mandate requirements beyond the initial three, but it "will not hesitate" to mandate more "if necessary".