Committee publication · Correspondence · 18 May 2026
Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology relating to to Recommendation 3 of the Committee’s Use of AI in Government report, 11 May 2026
Summary
The Permanent Secretary at DSIT responds to Recommendation 3 of the PAC's Use of AI in Government report, detailing the government's strategy to address the digital skills gap in the civil service. The response outlines plans to grow the Digital, Data and Cyber workforce to 10% of the Civil Service by 2030 (from 5%), through initiatives including TechTrack apprenticeships (2,000 by 2030), the AI Accelerator programme, expanded Digital Fast Stream roles, and the Digital Pay Framework (adopted by 36 organisations). Monitoring will occur via a structured performance framework aligned to the Roadmap for Modern Digital Government.
Key findings
- Government aims to grow digital workforce from 5% to 10% of Civil Service by 2030, driven by Digital Workforce 2030 strategy and TechTrack apprenticeships targeting 2,000 trainees in hard-to-fill roles.
- Digital Pay Framework adopted by 36 organisations could deliver £105.5 million annual savings if departments substitute contingent labour; six strategic external specialist partnerships support recruitment with TechSpark achieving 56.65% click-through rate.
- All public sector organisations required to have digital leader on executive committee and digital non-executive director on board by end of 2026; first four Senior Civil Service role descriptions published.
- Government Digital and Data Hub launched November 2025 received 30,000 views in two months; Get Tech Certified resulted in 10,000 learners and 1,132 certifications in first three months.
- Delivery constrained by structural factors: GDS does not control departmental hiring, workforce mix, or pay implementation; universal adoption of Digital Pay Framework and departmental take-up of central programmes remain incomplete.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Emran Mian, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Government Digital and Data Function, HM Treasury, Cabinet Office, GDS
Notable line
“… departments may be unable to recruit permanent digital staff even where there are clear business needs and available funding, instead they may continue to rely on contingent labour.”
Key Quotes
“To resolve the skills gap, the Government Digital and Data Function is working towards growing the Digital, Data and Cyber workforce to 10% of the Civil Service by 2030, up from approximately 5% today.”
“If departments were to adopt the framework and thereby substitute contingent labour, modelling shows this would deliver combined savings of £105.5 million per annum.”
“While GDS sets standards, provides central programmes and exercises assurance, it does not directly control departmental hiring decisions, workforce mix, or pay implementation, which remain the responsibility of individual departments and are subject to wider cross-government controls on headcount, pay and spending.”
“The Government will therefore need to act collectively across the centre, including through HM Treasury and Cabinet Office controls, to align incentives, provide targeted flexibilities such as headcount exemption for those early talent programmes, and, where necessary, strengthen mandates if the intended shift from contingent labour to sustainable in-house capability is to be achieved.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗