Prime figure in the Government’s data initiative set to move on by end of the year
Government data director Paul Maltby is preparing to leave the Government Digital Service (GDS) with the expiration of his loan period from the Home Office in December.
The Cabinet Office, has confirmed his impending departure, which is the third of a senior GDS official in recent months. Its former chief Stephen Foreshew-Cain and Janet Hughes, who was director of the GOV.UK identity assurance programme, left in August.
The advanced notice of Maltby’s leaving is in contrast to the sudden nature of their departures.
The recently appointed director general of GDS, Kevin Cunnington, said: "Paul will be leaving GDS when his loan from Whitehall ends at Christmas. Over his last three years in the Cabinet Office, Paul has put data at the centre of government thinking and made great strides on open data and building a community of data scientists in government."
Maltby himself (pictured), said: "I’m proud to have led the UK government’s world-leading activity on open data.
"Under Kevin’s leadership in GDS we have begun the hard work to go deeper to fix government’s data infrastructure and improve our data science capability.
"Data is the future of public service reform, and as I leave the great team here in GDS it is satisfying to see how the data agenda is increasingly driving reform in Whitehall and leading to a beneficial impact for citizens."
Maltby took up the data director role in September of last year, following two years as director of open data and government innovation in the Cabinet Office. He has played the leading role in building up the data capabilities in central government, focusing on areas such as its infrastructure programme and the development of data science skills.
As yet there has been no statement on plans for his replacement.
Image from GOV.UK, Open Government Licence v3.0
