Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Julia Lopez and Maria Miller

Thursday 8th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Julia Lopez]

I thank my hon. Friend for his important and incisive question. The civil service, as he acknowledges, has historically used contractors to provide specialist skills and to manage short-term requirements. We really want to drive that down by improving our own capability. We are developing a pipeline of secondments into major organisations through a new secondments unit. We are building an in-house consultancy, we are creating a civilian reserve, and we are working with the Civil Service Commission to review how we attract entrants with specific high-demand skills, particularly scientists and engineers.

[Mrs Maria Miller (Basingstoke) (Con)]

What steps the Government are taking to implement their levelling-up agenda.