Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department made of the viability of appointing an individual with appropriate skills and experience from within the civil service before the role of Principal Cyber Security Risk Consultant was externally advertised.

The Principal Cyber Security Risk Consultant is a highly specialised role focussed on the information and cyber security of the digital services GDS builds, operates and uses.

This is an interim role of 12 months. There are very few specialists able to provide the required skills and they are in high demand across HMG and the Financial Services sector on an interim basis.

After careful consideration, GDS determined that the variable nature of this work was better suited to a consultant.