Ministers’ targets for expanding the proportion of the civil service accounted for by digital experts will allow departments to stop working with about 7,000 contractors – resulting in potential cumulative savings of half a billion pounds per year, according to Whitehall’s operations chief.
In a letter to the Public Accounts Committee, civil service chief operating officer Cat Little provided MPs with an update on efforts to ensure government is equipped with adequate digital, data technology, and cybersecurity skills.
This upskilling takes place against the backdrop of a stated aim for 10% of the government workforce to be comprised of digital, data and cyber professionals. Between 2018 and 2025, the proportion more than doubled: from 2.8% to a current tally of around 6%.
This equates to about 30,000 technology experts now employed by central government agencies. Reaching the 10% target over the coming months and years will mean not only recruiting many more people from digital backgrounds, but also enabling departments to radically reduce reliance on external providers – and save significant amounts of money into the bargain.
Little told MPs: “[Raising] the proportion of staff in digital, including cyber roles, to 10% of the workforce… will involve replacing 7,000 contractors and consultancy employees with civil servants, resulting in potential savings of up to £500m per annum. We will also focus on core development opportunities, recruitment initiatives like Tech Track, and enhanced pay rates.”
Boosting the salaries available to attract top talent has already begun with a recent commitment to “increasing the maximum pay under the government digital and data pay framework for civil servants in technical roles below senior civil service for the first time since 2016”, the civil service COO added.
“Those in hard-to-fill positions may earn up to £110,000 per annum, reflecting an increase of £15,000,” she said.
Little, who also serves as permanent secretary of the Cabinet Office, wrote to MPs as a follow-up to a recent oral evidence session related to PAC’s ongoing inquiry examining the government’s levels of cyber resilience.
The letter advises the committee that, as of 2023, departments reported the use of a cumulative total of 295 cyber-specialised contractors as well as 251 vacant positions in the profession. This represents “a third of cyber roles either being vacant or filled by contractors”, Little said.
“As outlined in [a recent] NAO report, we estimate that this would increase to 751 vacancies by 2030 based on a 5% attrition rate and departmental headcount remaining constant in the absence of central intervention,” the letter added.