The digital and data skills gap in government is long–standing and this committee has raised concerns about this issue in the past.35 We challenged the Cabinet Office and DSIT on how they were tackling the problem and they told us they need to do more to communicate the benefits of working in the public sector, including the opportunity for public service and to have an impact on people’s lives.36 They also told us they wanted to encourage the flow of people and skills between the private and...

The digital and data skills gap in government is long–standing and this committee has raised concerns about this issue in the past.35 We challenged the Cabinet Office and DSIT on how they were tackling the problem and they told us they need to do more to communicate the benefits of working in the public sector, including the opportunity for public service and to have an impact on people’s lives.36 They also told us they wanted to encourage the flow of people and skills between the private and public sectors through greater use of secondments and “tours of duty”.37 Other initiatives set out by the Cabinet Office included a digital excellence p Type: conclusion | Number: 16 | Response status: not_addressed Government response: 3. PAC conclusion: There are persistent digital skills shortages in the public sector and DSIT’s plans to address the skills gap may not be enough. 3. PAC recommendation: DSIT and Cabinet Office should write to the committee alongside publication of the Digital a