22 February 2021 Home Office reports 24% rise in permanent IT staff during Covid-19 pandemic A response to an FOI request has revealed that permanent IT staff working for the Home Office rose by 24% during the Covid-19 pandemic The most popular positions included tech project managers and infrastructure engineers. Obtained by think tank Parliament Street, the FOI provides insight into how major government departments, including the Home Office, have boosted in-house IT talent to continue providing public services during the Covid-19 outbreak. From 1,225 permanent members of IT staff in 2019, this amount rose to 1,523 in 2020, with an extra 298 employees onboarded to the Home Office Digital, Data and Technology team.