Oral answer to question provided on Thursday, 16 February 2006 in the House of Lords, by Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour).

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Civil Service: Specialists

Answer

Yes, my Lords, of course we recognise the value of specialist staff; they represent about one-third of the senior Civil Service. In 2004–05, we recruited 169 civil servants from outside the Civil Service; of those, 63 had recorded specialist skills. The Professional Skills for Government programme exists precisely to ensure that all senior staff are given the right balance of training and support to deliver the business for which they are responsible. Our approach to core skills is designed to ensure that all specialist senior staff are given the support that they need to operate in central government.