Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to (a) encourage greater use of email and (b) implement other measures to reduce costs in communication by government departments.

The Government Digital Service (GDS) continues to support departments as they digitally transform their business operations, making government services easier and more efficient to use. There is a ‘digital first’ strategy across Government to save on time as well as paper and postage costs, including the use of email to achieve this aim.

The Government Communication Service (GCS) saved nearly £330m for taxpayers in 2014/15 compared to 2009/10 by making its campaigns more cost effective. The communications profession is also more streamlined, with headcount across Government reduced by a third since 2009/10. These reforms helped the Government reduce communications spending by a total of £1bn over the last Parliament. GCS continues to investigate new ways of reducing costs in Government communications.