Government chief information officers (CIOs) should establish skills working groups to address issues with the supply of expertise, says a government report.

Concerns that the IT marketplace lacks the capacity to deliver multibillion-pound plans such as ID cards and the NHS National Programme for IT are largely allayed by the findings of Whitehall buying agency the Office of Government Commerce (OGC).

But the supply of skilled staff remains a problem for government and suppliers.

‘The availability of senior experienced personnel is an issue from a delivery perspective; specifically programme managers, technical architects, and change managers,’ says the report. ‘Similar roles in the public sector were also identified as constraints.’

CIOs also need to pay attention to project and procurement management, because delays in one programme may have a detrimental knock-on effect on other public sector projects.

The IT capacity report was produced by the OGC for the Cabinet Office-run CIO Council, using details of more than 170 public sector projects with an annual value of about £3bn.

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