The Cabinet Office told us that, for the first time, government is developing multi-year strategic workforce plans for the civil service. The Cabinet Office has directed departments to provide five-year forecasts outlining the skills and capacity required to develop their workforces, including those of arm’s-length bodies. The forecasts include both consultancy and contingent labour.44 The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero told us that its strategic workforce plan is aligned with Cabinet Office guidance and aims to build key professional skills and capabilities. The workforce plan balances building core internal skills with selectively procuring external expertise when it offers better value for money. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero told us that it works together with the Cabinet Office’s complex transactions team, which in some cases has replaced the need to use external consultants.45