- The Government Communication Service (GCS) celebrates successes, including saving households an estimated £120 million on energy bills through the 'It All Adds Up' campaign
- Fresh campaigns to launch in the year ahead, including plans to mark 80th anniversary of Normandy Landings
22nd April 2024
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.
