Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2024 to Question 921 on Government Communication Service, what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the decision not to change the size of the Government Communication Service with the identification of savings from stopping all non-essential spending on communications in Table 2 of HM Treasury's publication entitled Fixing the foundations: public spending audit 2024-25, CP 1133, published in July 2024.

On the 29th July, The Chancellor of the Exchequer, as part of her statement, announced that the government will review spending on cross government on communications and marketing campaigns, with a view to making reductions. This review is on-going.

We regularly assess all functions and ensure they are delivering value for money. This includes reviewing team structures to ensure the correct skill mix, such as digital, marketing and strategic communications.

There has been one deputy head of digital role advertised during the period stated that we are aware of. We only have access to data up to 31st August 2024 for the Cabinet Office as GCS is not a single employer.

For headcount and FTE numbers across departments and public bodies, please see the documentation published at the following location which provides details on the profession by government department: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics.