Committee publication · Correspondence · 21 May 2026
Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology relating to Government Cyber Resilience recommendations, 19 Mat 2026
Summary
Permanent Secretary Emran Mian updates the Public Accounts Committee on DSIT's progress implementing recommendations from the 'Use of AI in Government' report. The letter revises delivery dates for five PAC recommendations, citing resource constraints and organisational restructuring. Key delays include legacy technology measurement (pushed to Autumn 2026), AI procurement framework (September 2026), and digital leadership embedding (December 2026). DSIT reports work underway with Treasury and Cabinet Office on cyber resilience, funding oversight, and skills development.
Key findings
- PAC recommendation 1b (legacy technology costs): implementation delayed from January 2026 to Autumn 2026; DSIT developing stable assessment model with common metrics for measuring ongoing and remediation costs
- PAC recommendation 1c (funding tracking): implementation delayed from January 2026 to Autumn 2026; Government Cyber Action Plan to introduce strengthened central governance and six-monthly departmental reporting on ringfenced remediation funding
- PAC recommendation 5 (AI procurement framework): implementation delayed from January 2026 to September 2026; AI Dynamic Purchasing System now provides access to 598 suppliers, ~85% SMEs; Commercial Innovation Hub testing Procurement Act flexibilities
- PAC recommendation 3 (skills gap and Digital and AI Roadmap): completed May 2026; update issued 11 May 2026 on digital skills reforms, monitoring mechanisms, and public reporting plans
- PAC recommendations 6b and 6c (digital leadership and embedded officers): both delayed to December 2026; DSIT establishing Digital Business Reviews with six-monthly departmental performance submissions; expecting digital leaders on executive committees and boards by December 2026
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Emran Mian, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Cabinet Office, HM Treasury, Government Commercial Agency, Government Cyber Coordination Centre, Public Accounts Committee
Notable line
“Revised timelines allow delivery to remain robust, feasible and aligned with broader cross - government priorities.”
Key Quotes
“The Department continues to progress activity to strengthen the use of AI across government and remains committed to delivering the recommendations in the report in full.”
“Given the complexity and variation of outdated (legacy) systems, DSIT is leading work to develop a stable and repeatable assessment model for collecting data and performing analysis.”
“… cyber and outdated (legacy) system remediation funding is to be subject to strengthened central financial governance, with departments increasingly drawing on evidence from GovAssure and the Government Cyber Coordination Centre (GC3) to inform prioritisation decisions”
“DSIT has worked with the Government Commercial Agency, within Cabinet Office, to improve existing routes for buying AI, particularly the AI Dynamic Purchasing System, which now provides access to 598 suppliers, around 85% of which are SMEs.”
“The roadmap for modern digital government set an expectation that central and local government will have digital leaders on executive committees and boards by”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗