The Government Communication Service (GCS) has published its
annual communication plan today,
explaining how government communicators will support the delivery
of the Prime Minister's priorities in 2024/25.
The Plan sets objectives for some of the country's most
recognisable campaigns, from the international ‘GREAT' campaign,
that inspires the world to collaborate, visit, study, live, work
and do business in the UK, to ‘Act FAST', that encourages people
to take immediate action on stroke symptoms to save lives.
GCS also previews
new work in the Plan, including the expansion of the ‘Stop! Think
Fraud' campaign, the launch of a new initiative to support women
take positive action to improve their health, and activity to
mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings in partnership
with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the Normandy
Memorial Trust, the Royal British Legion and the British Embassy
in Paris.
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 Plan also provides an update on the delivery of
the GCS Functional
Strategy 2022-25, which shows the profession has already met 75%
of its 30 commitments, and is on track to achieve the rest by the
end of 2025.
Some of the best work delivered by Government communicators over
the past year is celebrated, including:
- the continuation of the ‘Help for Households' campaign,
resulting in 19 million visits to GOV.UK since its launch,
delivered by departments across Government
- the first phase of the ‘It All Adds Up' energy efficiency
campaign, saving UK households an estimated £120 million on
energy bills in 2023/24, delivered by the Department for Energy
Security and Net Zero
- the six-week ‘Emergency Alerts' campaign, raising public
awareness of the national test among UK adults to 92%, delivered
by the Cabinet Office
- 90 announcements about the Coronation, achieving more than
100,000 news stories and reaching an estimated global audience of
2 billion people in 125 countries, delivered by the Department
for Culture, Media and Sport in support of the Royal Household
GCS has published
an annual communications plan since 2010 to set a clear direction
for communicators across 25 ministerial departments, 21
non-ministerial departments and over 300 agencies and public
bodies.
Alex Burghart MP, Minister in the Cabinet Office, said:
Communications are a vital tool that will help deliver the Prime
Minister's priorities in the year ahead. Whether we're stopping
the boats or growing the economy, this is a plan for the whole of
Government that will break down silos and encourage coordinated
and cohesive work.
It's important to celebrate GCS's achievements over
the past year, including helping the Coronation reach up to 2
billion people across 125 countries and supporting the GREAT
campaign which is bringing money from around the world into the
UK economy.
Simon Baugh, Chief Executive, Government Communications Service,
said:
This plan shows how we'll use communications to deliver results
for the public in the year ahead, from improving road safety and
health outcomes, to building the UK's brand on the international
stage.
I'm proud of the progress we've made to implement our strategy
over the past year, achieving the majority of the commitments a
year ahead of schedule. This success is driven by a culture that
supports people to test and learn, driving innovation across
Government. It's the same culture that makes our trailblazing
campaigns some of the most recognisable in the industry.
