Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for the total spend on (i) LinkedIn membership fees (ii) other subscriptions by his Department in the last financial year.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In line with other large employers, The Cabinet Office utilises LinkedIn subscriptions for business purposes including recruitment across government and managing the wider Civil Service talent pipeline.
It is not possible to provide a definitive figure for subscriptions for the last financial year (and to do so would incur disproportionate costs.) Heads of Business Units review all subscriptions and other internal expenditure to ensure value for tax payer money.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff in their Department have been on mental health leave for six months or more; and for what reason.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Civil Service publishes regular sickness absence reports, which provide statistics for sickness absence by organisation and sickness reason, including Mental Ill-Health. These can be found at Sickness absence in the Civil Service - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for the total budget and number of staff of the Government Communication Service.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government Communication Service (GCS) conducts an annual data collection, requesting government organisations to submit accurate and timely returns. It should be noted that some organisations may have undergone significant changes since the data was collected in July 2025.
At the time of the 2025 annual Government Communications data collection, the total figure for staff in the Government Communication Service is 6,150 across the profession in all departments and ALBs. The total budget is not held centrally in the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people have been monitored by the Government Communications Service in the previous year.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government Communication Service (GCS) monitors publicly available media posts, under strict controls, to measure communication effectiveness, understand public narratives, and address potential mis/disinformation.
GCS does not access private information or monitor individuals, but collects, stores, and processes data from public social media posts.
Reports may include examples of high-performing public content relevant to government priorities, and adheres to a published Privacy Notice (link below) outlining the legal basis for monitoring.
GCS uses commercially available automated and AI tools, such as Storyzy, procured via the civil service framework, for information environment analysis; no external contractors are used.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants within the Government Communications Service are engaged in identifying, categorising, or responding to social media content critical of government migration policy.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office's GCS team has three staff members responsible for media and social media analysis. While their analysis is not specifically focused on migration, the topic may arise as part of wider thematic reporting. We cannot provide information on GCS staffing levels or responsibilities within other government departments.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government Communications Service maintains a database, spreadsheet, internal dashboard, or record of accounts or individuals who post content about migrants, asylum seekers, or community housing pressures.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government Communication Service (GCS) monitors publicly available media posts, under strict controls, to measure communication effectiveness, understand public narratives, and address potential mis/disinformation.
GCS does not access private information or monitor individuals, but collects, stores, and processes data from public social media posts.
Reports may include examples of high-performing public content relevant to government priorities, and adheres to a published Privacy Notice (link below) outlining the legal basis for monitoring.
GCS uses commercially available automated and AI tools, such as Storyzy, procured via the civil service framework, for information environment analysis; no external contractors are used.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government Communications Service uses automated tools, AI systems, or external contractors to scrape social media data relating to criticism of migration.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government Communication Service (GCS) monitors publicly available media posts, under strict controls, to measure communication effectiveness, understand public narratives, and address potential mis/disinformation.
GCS does not access private information or monitor individuals, but collects, stores, and processes data from public social media posts.
Reports may include examples of high-performing public content relevant to government priorities, and adheres to a published Privacy Notice (link below) outlining the legal basis for monitoring.
GCS uses commercially available automated and AI tools, such as Storyzy, procured via the civil service framework, for information environment analysis; no external contractors are used.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government Communications Service collects, stores, or processes data from social media accounts under the RESIST framework.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government Communication Service (GCS) monitors publicly available media posts, under strict controls, to measure communication effectiveness, understand public narratives, and address potential mis/disinformation.
GCS does not access private information or monitor individuals, but collects, stores, and processes data from public social media posts.
Reports may include examples of high-performing public content relevant to government priorities, and adheres to a published Privacy Notice (link below) outlining the legal basis for monitoring.
GCS uses commercially available automated and AI tools, such as Storyzy, procured via the civil service framework, for information environment analysis; no external contractors are used.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 89231 on Cabinet Office: Social, which channels were (a) contracted and (b) paid by his Department in the last financial year.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Please see below Cabinet Office spend by social platform from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025:
Supplier | Net Media Spend |
Meta | £791,705.41 |
£325,259.65 | |
£13,888.89 | |
Snapchat | £54,812.17 |
TikTok | £65,494.21 |
Grand Total | £1,251,160.33 |
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2025 to Question 86454 on Cabinet Office: Social Media, if he will publish any information that would not prejudice commercial interests.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Influencers are an effective channel to reach audiences. Their work with the Cabinet Office is primarily supported by agencies OmniGov and Pablo Unlimited via the Campaign Solutions 2 framework, link below:
https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6125
Channels are chosen based on audience engagement and alignment with government objectives. The Cabinet Office monitors communication spending to ensure efficiency, effectiveness, and best value for the taxpayer.