UK.gov's top tech jobs pay more than prime minister earns
- Reference: 1775731801
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/04/09/dsit_tech_jobs/
- Source link:
The DG for digital products will oversee the full launch of the GOV.UK app and development of GOV.UK Chat, the National Digital Wallet, and GOV.UK One Login.
"Alongside the delivery of current services, the DG will be responsible for setting the creative vision and strategic direction for the future suite of digital products – anticipating emerging needs, technologies and opportunities to transform how government serves the public," says the job's [1]information pack , which adds that the successful candidate will lead a team of 650 and manage a planned budget of £275 million.
[2]
The DG for digital transformation, a more strategic role, will lead on plans for digital government, advice for ministers, and use of AI, from which the government hopes to find more than £100 million in productivity gains.
[3]
[4]
The successful candidate will lead a team of 700 people with a provisional budget of £200 million.
"The DG will lead the UK Government's efforts to radically improve public service delivery through digital redesign, AI adoption and cross-departmental transformation and the underpinning data architecture and policy of government," the [5]information pack for this role says.
[6]
DSIT will pay both directors general between £200,000 and £260,000 a year, plus employer pension contributions worth 29 percent of salary. Applications for the vacancies close on May 5.
The DG of digital foundations is responsible for the government's cybersecurity policy and the digital identity scheme, and will oversee the implementation of the digital inclusion action plan.
The chosen candidate will also lead delivery of government-sponsored broadband networks and aim to strengthen the resilience of telecoms and digital infrastructure, managing a team of 900 staff and a planned budget of £950 million.
[7]Whitehall seeks lone C++ coder to keep airport passenger model flying
[8]GCHQ dangles up to £130K for a CISO to fight the world's most capable adversaries
[9]DVSA seeks £95K digital chief to steer test booking system out of the ditch
[10]UK government on the lookout for bargain-priced CTO
The salary for the DG of digital foundations is £174,000, plus pension contributions. [11]Applications close on April 29 .
All three jobs pay more than the prime minister's £170,000 salary but are short of the best-paid IT role in the public sector, according to [12]recent data from the Cabinet Office .
[13]
As of September 30, the best-paid technology officer in the public sector was Graeme Slater, chief information officer of Nuclear Decommissioning Authority subsidiary Sellafield Limited, on £280,000 to £284,999.
He joined Sellafield in January 2024 after the organization experienced a series of [14]cybersecurity failures .
Other well-compensated public sector techies include Antony Rowstron, chief technology officer of DSIT's Advanced Research and Invention Agency, who is paid £260,000 to £264,999, and Richard Pedley, chief digital information officer of National Highways, on £220,000 to £224,999.
The highest-paid person on the list was Mark Wild, who received £660,000 to £664,999 as chief executive of High Speed Two Limited, the company building the HS2 railway between London and Birmingham. However, the notes say that he didn't get a pension. ®
Get our [15]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cgi?SID=dXNlcnNlYXJjaGNvbnRleHQ9MTgyMTQ0OTgzJnBhZ2VjbGFzcz1Kb2JzJm93bmVyPTUwNzAwMDAmcGFnZWFjdGlvbj12aWV3dmFjYnlqb2JsaXN0Jm93bmVydHlwZT1mYWlyJnNlYXJjaHBhZ2U9MSZzZWFyY2hzb3J0PXNjb3JlJmpvYmxpc3Rfdmlld192YWM9MTk5Mjk1OCZyZXFzaWc9MTc3NTU3ODE3NS02NzAzNjkyNDkwZjU4NjU5YzIwNTVhOTI4MDVkMjhkMzgxZmZkN2M2
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2adfNJO-WK8RSOq1fRlVRQwAAAAc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44adfNJO-WK8RSOq1fRlVRQwAAAAc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33adfNJO-WK8RSOq1fRlVRQwAAAAc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cgi?SID=b3duZXJ0eXBlPWZhaXImcGFnZWNsYXNzPUpvYnMmb3duZXI9NTA3MDAwMCZ1c2Vyc2VhcmNoY29udGV4dD0xODIxNDQ5ODMmcGFnZWFjdGlvbj12aWV3dmFjYnlqb2JsaXN0JmpvYmxpc3Rfdmlld192YWM9MTk5Mjk1MSZzZWFyY2hwYWdlPTEmc2VhcmNoc29ydD1zY29yZSZyZXFzaWc9MTc3NTU3ODE3NS02NzAzNjkyNDkwZjU4NjU5YzIwNTVhOTI4MDVkMjhkMzgxZmZkN2M2
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44adfNJO-WK8RSOq1fRlVRQwAAAAc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/12/100k_tender_napam/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/26/gchq_ciso_job/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/16/dvsa_technology_boss/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/29/uk_government_cto/
[11] https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cgi?SID=am9ibGlzdF92aWV3X3ZhYz0xOTkxOTk5JnNlYXJjaHNvcnQ9c2NvcmUmc2VhcmNocGFnZT0xJm93bmVydHlwZT1mYWlyJnBhZ2VhY3Rpb249dmlld3ZhY2J5am9ibGlzdCZvd25lcj01MDcwMDAwJnBhZ2VjbGFzcz1Kb2JzJnVzZXJzZWFyY2hjb250ZXh0PTE4MjE0NDk4MyZyZXFzaWc9MTc3NTU3ODE3NS02NzAzNjkyNDkwZjU4NjU5YzIwNTVhOTI4MDVkMjhkMzgxZmZkN2M2
[12] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-senior-officials-high-earners-list
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33adfNJO-WK8RSOq1fRlVRQwAAAAc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/28/sellafield-nuclear-waste-dump-to-be-prosecuted-for-alleged-it-security-offences
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Tech
Indeed, we all know that PMs don't rely on tax payer salary, but rather cushy post-term private sector jobs.
Managers win again
At the same time, 70% of permanent IT staff in the Scottish Government are to lose the payment supplement (currently £5,000 per year) from to their salary from April 2027. That's a 8% to 14% pay cut for those staff, dependant on their pay band. Most of the remainder will have it reduced - dependant on their job title. The supplement has been in place for over 25 years.
The reasoning - apparently the maximum pay for those roles is higher than 95% of the median pay for that job in the wider UK - that largest discrepancy being 6% over median pay.
The saving - around £4million a year or 0.01% of the budget.
But yes, pay the people at the top of IT areas in Government six figure salaries, but don't pay the staff even the median.
Re: Managers win again
That's devolution.
a better year
At some point during the Hoover Administration (1929 - 1933), sportswriters pointed out to Babe Ruth that he was making more money than the president, and asked for his thoughts on the matter. Ruth said, I had a better year than he did.
In general, positions in elected government have not been that terribly well paid in the Anglo-American world, have they? It was quite late in the history of the Mother of Parliaments that MPs were paid. In the US, Senators and Members of Congress get $174 thousand base pay, though admittedly with excellent benefits. A fair proportion of The Register's commentariat could earn that kind of salary.
Re: a better year
These jobs are extremely well paid, just not officially. Ensure contracts are going to usual suspects, let them have enormous margins and then once you are out, release a book that will mysteriously be bought by containers load or go make speeches £100k a pop.
Re: a better year
I know a retired MP slightly. He lives locally. He writes local history books. I have bought some of them but I doubt they sell by the container load. In fact I doubt the publishers could print on that scale. He has given a few talks to our Civic Society. We certainly don't pay him £100k - we couldn't. I'm not even sure we pay him anything; £60 (not k!) is about our maximum.
Re: a better year
This is presumably why an otherwise impoverished Trump has had to use his position as president to boost his [1]Net Worth By $3 Billion In A Year . Ah, the problems that other people have!
[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2025/09/09/presidency-boosts-trumps-net-worth-by-3-billion-in-a-year/
Slight difference...
The PM salary will exclude "expenses" (duck ponds, complete refurbishment if "2nd" homes etc), basic like food, energy and transport.
Then there is all the cushy "advisor" roles after.
Just ask Tony "WMD" Blair how poor he is now.
No news here
I'm surprised at El Reg even bothering with this article. I think all your readers are smart enough to realise that you have to pay what the role requires in a competitive market.
Why do smart people even care about whether a job is being paid more or less than their boss? Of course we would all like to be paid as much as possible, but the job market, particularly in technology roles, is competitive and you get what you pay for. The manager's job is different from the expert's job. They are both valuable, but there is no reason one should be higher paid than the other. The CEO should be paid whatever is needed to get the best compromise executive leader you can get - compromising between the quality of the candidate and how much it would cost to get a better one. Similarly for technology roles: get the best person you can afford at the budget you have available (or choose to change the strategy so that a larger budget can be justified). No point comparing the two salaries.
The principle is even more important in government roles. Running the team managing the country is completely different from creating the technology required to do it. Why should the salaries even be compared?
No New News Here where Treason Plays a Rigged and Crooked Great Game
The principle is even more important in government roles. Running the team managing the country is completely different from creating the technology required to do it. Why should the salaries even be compared? .... Graham Cobb
Methinks to be paying any team failing so clearly to manage the country is tantamount to a criminal conspiracy to defraud the treasury and virtually render executive defence of the national realm practically impotent and physically worthless ........ with both being nothing less than a scandalous and monumentally expensive drain on both the dwindling resources and future prospects for pathetic apathetic assets aided and abetted by a co-conspiratorial main stream media pimping and pumping their tragic efforts.
Tech
Director being paid middling wage and comparison to Prime Minister making less?
Let's be honest here. We get what we pay for.