Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many digital, data and technology staff (including contractors) are currently employed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; and what assessment they have made of the adequacy of that number.

As of 31 July 2023 the number of permanent digital, data and technology staff in Defra was 940, and the number of contingent workers was 201. This is the number of staff in our Digital, Data and Technology Services Directorate only, there will be some additional staff working on digital, data and technology activity elsewhere across the rest of Defra group. Our HR systems do not currently allow us to identify staff in this category.

Defra continually keeps its resourcing under review. For digital, data and technology (DDaT) roles, there are particular challenges when it comes to recruiting and retaining civil servant staff – as acknowledged by the recent National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee reports into Defra’s technology, and by the Central Digital and Data Office’s own analysis and roadmap for DDaT in Government more generally. Defra therefore uses a blended model of civil servants, contingent labour and suppliers to deliver DDaT work, and has the resourcing needed to deliver the work required. As market conditions change, Defra regularly reviews the most efficient and effective blend of resourcing to deliver its work.