John Cooper

Public relations activity is a subset of communication spend. As such, this data is not held for the Office for Equality and Opportunity or the Social Mobility Commission. The Government Communication Service encourages the prioritisation of low and no cost public relations activities wherever possible.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is an independent arm’s length body. Questions on their spend would need to be directed to the EHRC.

It is recommended that all external communications support should be procured through approved government frameworks, with strict controls in place to ensure cost-effectiveness.

Public relations activity is a subset of communication spend. As such, this data is not held. The Government Communication Service encourages the prioritisation of low and no cost public relations activities wherever possible.

It is recommended that all external communications support should be procured through approved government frameworks, with strict controls in place to ensure cost-effectiveness.

In February, the Government announced new rules requiring all government departments and their executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies to set three-year targets for direct spend with SMEs from 1 April 2025, and from 1 April 2026 for Voluntary Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs), and publish progress annually.

Our intention is for all targets for spend with SMEs and the annual publication of spend with SMEs to be published on the Central Digital Platform for ease of comparison. This will drive greater transparency and accountability for increasing numbers of SMEs and VCSEs delivering public contracts.

As part of the GPA’s Government Workplace Design Guide and Inclusive Design Standards, we are committed to improving the standard of inclusive and accessible signage across our estate including the quality and availability of braille and tactile symbols. Our Inclusive Design Standards state signs should be clear, use simple and concise text, and include raised text, braille, and raised pictograms when appropriate.

This was an acquisition of Harbour Energy shares by BASF and LetterOne, with LetterOne receiving a class of non-voting shares which does not give it the ability to influence Harbour Energy. On 30 July 2024, following a detailed national security assessment, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster imposed a necessary and proportionate Final Order under the National Security and Investment Act on the acquisition of a 46.5% shareholding of Harbour Energy plc by BASF Handels-Und Export GmbH. The Final Order and the conditions imposed within it enable the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to consider further the exercise of his powers under the Act should a share conversion lead to: LetterOne owning 10% or more ordinary shares in Harbour Energy; and/or the appointment of a Harbour Energy plc board member by LetterOne. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has a statutory duty to keep all Final Orders under review and will exercise this power if and when necessary.

At any point in time, there is likely to be a number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within business units or have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a day to day basis.

Public relations activity is a subset of communication spend. As such, this data is not held. The Government Communication Service encourages the prioritisation of low and no cost public relations activities wherever possible.

It is recommended that all external communications support should be procured through approved government frameworks, with strict controls in place to ensure cost-effectiveness.

The Department for Business and Trade has not spent anything on media and voice training for Ministers since 5 July 2024.

The Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero currently has 34 individuals in the redeployment register.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has nil spend on external public relations since 5 July 2024. DESNZ conducts all public relations in house and does not use any external providers/firms.

The Department’s Arm’s Length Bodies record and publish their own spend data on public relations. This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

There has been no spend on either (a) media or (b) voice training for Ministers since 5^th July 2024 in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

We considered a range of factors including (1) labour market analysis, (2) mapping of Government estate availability and costs, and (3) proximity to strategic partners and establishments.

I am confident that Aberdeen is the right place for Great British Energy’s Headquarters. This decision recognises that Aberdeen is at the heart of the energy transition away from fossils fuels. The city also has an excellent talent pool to support the delivery of Great British Energy. Additional smaller sites in Edinburgh and Glasgow will enable us to take advantage of the expertise, skilled workforce and diversity of projects in place across Scotland.

At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a day-to-day basis.

Public relations activity is a subset of communication spend. As such, this data is not held. The Government Communication Service encourages the prioritisation of low and no cost public relations activities wherever possible.

It is recommended that all external communications support should be procured through approved government frameworks, with strict controls in place to ensure cost-effectiveness.

The Department has spent no money on (a) media or (b) voice training for Ministers since 5 July 2024.

At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or who, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a regular basis.

In DCMS, there are currently no permanent civil servants in DCMS without assigned posts, and five members of staff on the department’s redeployment register.

Public relations activity is a subset of communication spend. As such, this data is not held. The Government Communication Service encourages the prioritisation of low and no cost public relations activities wherever possible. It is recommended that all external communications support should be procured through approved government frameworks, with strict controls in place to ensure cost-effectiveness.

The department has not spent any expenses on media or voice training for ministers since 5 July 2024.

At any point in time, there are likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a day-to-day basis.

Total spend on external communications from 5 July 2024 to 6 March 2025 is £35,478,270.30.

This includes the following spending:

• Core department: £35,342,797.68.
• The Education and Skills Funding Agency: £3,853.24.
• Standards and Testing Agency: £3,153.39.
• Total departmental spend: £35,349,804.30.

We only have data for arms length body spending through Oak National Academy, which spent £128,465.98.

Total spend through the framework is £34,553,792.52.

The vast majority of the spend constitutes the department’s key campaigns which are Get in to Teaching, Childcare Choices, Skills for life and Further Education. We are unable to detail the spend by campaign.

Top ten supplier spend through the framework is shown here:

The department has not spent any money on media or voice training for Ministers since 5 July 2024.

At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a day-to-day basis but remains insignificant.

Public relations activity is a subset of communication spend. As such, this data is not held. The Government Communication Service encourages the prioritisation of low and no cost public relations activities wherever possible. It is recommended that all external communications support should be procured through approved government frameworks, with strict controls in place to ensure cost-effectiveness.

The UK maintains high standards on the information that is provided on food labels, so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy. The availability and accessibility of essential food information to all consumers is vitally important. It is already a requirement that food information must be easily visible, clearly legible and where appropriate indelible, in addition to there being a required minimum font size for mandatory information.

We continue to assess other possibilities to ensure accessibility of food packaging information.

The department has not spent any money on media or voice training services for Ministers since 5 July 2024.

There are no permanent civil servants within DfTc and the Agencies without assigned posts.

The Department for Transport (DfTc and the Agencies) has a priority movers list/redeployment register. Within a payroll workforce of over 16000*, the number of people currently on the register for DfTc and the Agencies as of 6^th June 2025 is 61.

*Payroll staff total headcount DfT: workforce management information, April 2025 - GOV.UK

A summary of the department and it’s Arm’s Length Bodies spend on external public relations since 5 July 2024 is as follows:

• Department for Transport, DVSA, DVLA and National Highways: £0

• Maritime and Coastguard Agency: £24,560 with the agency 23Red.

• Network Rail: £21,250 with agencies Four Communications and On Broadcast.

In the Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor committed to move forward feasibility work on improvements to the A75 by providing up to £5 million to the Scottish Government in 2025-26.

Initial work has been done by Transport Scotland to scope out possible options for the realignment of the A75 around the settlements of Springholm and Crocketford. Following the Budget, the Scottish Government announced they have awarded a contract to progress this work.

The Department has had no spend on media and voice training for Ministers since 5 July 2024.

Public relations activity is a subset of communication spend. As such, this data is not held. The Government Communication Service encourages the prioritisation of low and no cost public relations activities wherever possible.

It is recommended that all external communications support should be procured through approved government frameworks, with strict controls in place to ensure cost-effectiveness.

At the time of writing, there has been NIL spend on this type of training for ministers.

As of 6 June 2025, the Department has five civil servants without a permanent assigned post. These individuals are undertaking temporary assignments until a permanent post can be found. The Department does not hold any of the equivalent programme categories as requested, from people action team to skills match hub. As such, no individuals are allocated to these.

The following table shows the Department's spend through CCS agreements RM6125 (lots 1 and 2) and RM6123 since 5 July 2024:

Source: Department of Health and Social Care

Information on spend by arm’s length bodies is not held centrally. The spend outlined above includes advertising, creative development and production, and media planning. Investment is set as part of the campaign planning process based on the audiences and objectives. This spend includes campaigns such as adult social care recruitment, childhood immunisations, smoking and mental health.

The Department had 90 full-time equivalent staff in post working in the Communications Directorate at the end of January 2025; this is a reduction from a headcount of 110 in July 2021. Staff in this Directorate cover a broad range of communications roles including media relations, marketing and branding, public health and prevention campaigns, internal communications and external publishing on GOV.UK.

Figures are available only for the total cost of external public relations support to paid campaigns incurred by the Department for the period 5 July 2024 to 3 February 2025. This cost is £474,763.33. All spend has been through a single contract with Mullen Lowe.

The Department has spent at total of £840 including VAT on media training for ministers, since 5 July 2024.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) operate a Directorate Flexible Resource (DFR) pool. The DFR is the FCDO's resourcing model for when staff are between substantive roles in our rotational model of home and overseas roles. The DFR offers important agility for the Department, and to support staff in between roles/when returning from overseas. Those in between roles are working within their Directorates whilst looking for a substantive position.

Each Department is responsible for setting their redundancy procedures in line with the Cabinet Office issued 2016 Civil Service Redundancy Protocol. This document is publicly available guidance, published on gov.uk. The Civil Service does not formally use the terms, 'redeployment registers', 'people action teams', or 'priority movers lists', but the Redundancy Protocol does set out the expectations placed on departments when it comes to managing their employees who are without posts due to restructuring or job reduction plans.

There is no central policy relating to 'Talent pools' in the Civil Service. Departmental approaches to managing talent vary and are not governed by any central guidance or policy.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has made no assessment of the effectiveness of the visit. The delivery of Scottish Government ministers is properly to be assessed by Scottish parliamentary scrutiny mechanisms. The FCDO engaged with Scottish Government officials in support of the visit, as overseas missions routinely do for all overseas visits made by Devolved Government officials.

ODA allocations and the impact on programmes are being worked through following the decision to reduce UK ODA from 0.5% of GNI to 0.3% in 2027.

We will be taking a rigorous approach to ensure all ODA delivers value for money.

We will set out our spending plans following the completion of the Spending Review and departmental resource allocation processes.

Contracts awarded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) are available via ContractsFinder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder) and Find-a-Tender-Service (https://www.gov.uk/find-tender). FCDO spend above £25,000 is available via https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fcdo-departmental-spending-over-25000, and summary figures are available via the FCDO's Annual Report and Accounts (the latest report is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024).

The FCDO is not responsible for procurement on behalf of our arm's length bodies.

Public relations activity is a subset of communication spend. As such, this data is not held. The Government Communication Service encourages the prioritisation of low and no cost public relations activities wherever possible. It is recommended that all external communications support should be procured through approved government frameworks [https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6125], with strict controls in place to ensure cost-effectiveness.

We do not currently operate any of the systems listed in the question. At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a day-to-day basis, and these people are still actively working on temporary and priority projects.

Public relations activity is a subset of communication spend. As such, this data is not held.

The Government Communication Service encourages the prioritisation of low and no cost public relations activities wherever possible.

It is recommended that all external communications support should be procured through approved government frameworks, with strict controls in place to ensure cost-effectiveness.

The media training was provided by Freud Communications. The Ministers who received the training were the former Economic Secretary, the Exchequer Secretary and the Financial Secretary to the Treasury.

Since 5 July 2024, the Department has spent £9.7k on media training for members of the Ministerial team. No costs on voice training for Ministers have been incurred since the 5^th July 2024.

The exact number changes on a day-to-day basis. At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or, for example, have been on loan to another department during which time their role has been phased out.

To identify the information requested would require a manual review of all transactions made in communications related account categories in the Home Office’s financial system since 5 July 2024, to confirm if they related to Crown Commercial Service agreement RM6125 and other agreements, and then to collate and verify relevant data.

This could only be done for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.