Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether WhatsApp and other instant messaging applications are enabled on smartphones issued to ministers and senior civil servants; and if so, what guidance is provided for their use.
Only applications specifically approved for use on Cabinet Office-issued OFFICIAL smartphones are accessible to Ministers and Civil Servants within the department.
The use of such applications is subject to strict conditions of use including acceptable use guidelines and departmental records management policy, which govern what systems may be used for and how records of such communications are retained, in line with our legal obligations and the Civil Service code.