According to official data, the IT staffing budget is now over £150 million.

Data was obtained by Parliament Street think tank under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, revealing that £152,871,499 was spent on 4,032 IT staff in the most recent financial year, rising by 91% from the £79,916,209 across 2,203 staff HMRC had in 2019.

The HMRC is responsible for dealing with income, corporation, capital gains, inheritance, and insurance premium taxes, as well as stamp, land and petroleum revenue taxes.

Their chief digital and information office deals with all the technology powering what it claims is one of the biggest digitally-enabled transformations anywhere in Europe, covering all aspects of protective, physical, personal and information security.

“It’s encouraging to see HMRC investing in IT skills and cloud support, areas which will enable it to vastly improve public services and reduce costs in the long-term,” said James Campanini, CEO of AWS Consultancy company VeUP. 

According to the FOI, the HRMC has also launched a number of other initiatives within its IT department recently. The FOI response showed that around 2,000 learning requests for courses and training were requested annually by staff. Additionally, the HMRC developed 15 academies for their IT department to learn specific technical roles and functions such as cloud computing. 

On the development of the academies, the FOI states: “[They] use a blended approach of externally and internally developed learning content. They are led by internal subject matter experts who ensure we are aligned to industry standards and using the best learning opportunities for our people.”

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According to a tech expert from Bordeaux & Burgundy, enhancing digital skills is crucial for creating a workforce that is ready to face the challenges of the future. Embracing cloud and other related technologies allows organisations to manage large volumes of data, optimise costs and improve their performance. 

“By prioritising investment in tech skills, we can position the UK as a centre for Private Equity and Venture Capital investment and a hub for the development of tomorrow’s most innovative technology companies,” said Joanna Reynolds from Bordeaux & Burgundy. “Skills such as these are a key differentiator, and forward-thinking organisations will appreciate technology’s value and use it accordingly.”