Plans for communications by government departments over the next 12 months have been released by the Government Communications Service.
The Government Communications Service has published annual communications plans since 2010 when the current government came into office. The annual plan provides messaging direction to 25 ministerial departments, 21 non-ministerial departments as well as 300 agencies and public bodies.
Government departments use digital methods for information campaigns that are aligned to government policy, such as the It All Adds Up energy efficiency website and these products must meet the standards set out in the Government Communications Plan.
The Government Communications Plan 2024-25 will be used to set messaging objectives in an electoral year, and provides an update on the delivery of the services’ Functional Strategy 2022-25. The Government Communications Service said 75% of its 30 commitments in the Functional Strategy have been met, and it is on track to complete the rest of its objectives by the end of 2025.
“These workstreams, and many others, align with six priority areas: economy and skills; health and the NHS; supporting families and communities; security at home and abroad; public sector recruitment; and public services. Performance in each priority area will be measured across the year against key performance indicators,” the Government Communications Service said in a statement.
Anti-fraud expansion
Within the new plan is an expansion of the Stop! Think Fraud campaign and a new programme that promotes women to take action to improve their health.
It reviews the websites and work of communications teams in government and says programmes such as Help for Households campaign in response to the UK’s cost of living crisis led to 19 million visits to the GOV.UK site. It also claims that the It All Adds Up energy efficiency campaign has saved UK households an estimated £120 million on energy bills during 2023 and 2024. This campaign was delivered by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport was praised for delivering 90 announcements during the coronation in May 2023.
