Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the civil service can attract artificial intelligence experts from the private sector; and what assessment they have made of whether this will increase the effectiveness of the civil service.

The Government is actively attracting AI experts from the private sector. Key steps include the AI Accelerator Programme, cross-sector secondments, and specialist AI roles such as Machine learning engineer. The Government Digital and Data Pay Framework ensures competitive salaries, while AI training courses on Civil Service-Learning support upskilling. These efforts aim to enhance decision-making, improve public services, strengthen cybersecurity, and increase efficiency. The government has also unveiled ambitious plans to grow the digital workforce, targeting 10% of civil servants in digital roles within five years.