Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance her Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All departments in the Government, including arms lengths bodies, apply the published guidance, Using non-corporate communication channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS) for government business, published by the Cabinet Office in March 2023. It applies to all individuals in the Government, including ministers, special advisers, officials, contractors, non-executive board members and independent experts advising ministers. The Department uses this central guidance, and has applied it since March 2023.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what guidance his Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
In accordance with Cabinet Office Policy [Using non-corporate communication channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS) for government business (HTML) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)] the Ministry of Defence discourages the use of WhatsApp for anything other than keeping in touch purposes, and policy reinforces that personnel must not share or confirm any information above OFFICIAL.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance his Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Whatsapp is not a supported application and is not available for all Home Office Staff.
However, if staff in specific roles have a valid business justification to use Whatsapp for their job, they can apply to have it installed on their corporate mobile devices via an exceptions process, and will receive guidance on how to configure the app to ensure it meets Home Office security standards.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what reports and guidance their Department has produced in the last three financial years; and how much was spent on their (a) printing and (b) distribution.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information is not available in the format requested, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The Department is digital by default, and the primary channel for issuing reports and guidance is the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance his Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department follows the Cabinet Office policy on non-corporate communication channels for Government business https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-corporate-communication-channels-for-government-business
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what reports and guidance their Department has produced in the last three financial years; and how much was spent on their (a) printing and (b) distribution.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department.
Reports and guidance that the Department has published can be found on gov.uk
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what reports and guidance their Department has produced in the last three financial years; and how much was spent on their (a) printing and (b) distribution.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department. Reports and guidance that the Treasury has published can be found on gov.uk
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what reports and guidance their Department has produced in the last three financial years; and how much was spent on their (a) printing and (b) distribution.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what guidance his Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
All departments in central government, including arms lengths bodies apply the published guidance: [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-corporate-communication-channels-for-government-business], published by Cabinet Office in March 2023. It applies to all individuals in central government (ministers, special advisers, officials, contractors, non-executive board members and independent experts advising ministers). The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office uses the central guidance and has applied it since March 2023.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding his Department has (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on advertising in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
A full departmental response could only be provided at disproportionate cost, however the majority of expenditure is accounted for by advertising by the three branches of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) to aid recruitment. Therefore, figures have been provided by the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force, and the MDP. Marketing and additional advertising expenditure outside of this remit is not held centrally.
Budget figures were 2021-22 £37,903,062; 2022-23 £42,800,318; 2023-24 (to date) £48,177,395.
Spend in 2020-21 was £34,178,742; 2021-22 £30,876,441; 2022-23 £40,562,477; and 2023-24 to date is £19,462,174.
Spending is reviewed regularly to ensure value for money.