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 programme of training for senior civil servants, the creation of a digital, data and innovation pathway and providing different entry routes into the profession (for example, the digital fast stream and targets for new digital apprenticeships).38