Memorandum submitted by Howell
James CBE, Permanent Secretary, Government Communications (RGC01)
In advance of giving evidence on October
27 here is some background on the scope of my role, my approach
for driving more strategic government communication and a summary
of progress to date.
Background
The Phillis Review, established following
recommendations made by your committee, identified that government
communication has traditionally focused on news management and
paid-for activity, such as advertising. These are critical channels
and we must retain a tight grip on them. But a number of factors,
in particular the nature of the modern communications environment
and its associated impact on the public's media habits, mean that
government needs to redefine the way in which it communicates.
As the first Permanent Secretary, Government
Communication my role is to balance the day-to-day media focus
with a broader and more strategic cross-government role.
To embed a strategic approach within
and across departments my role is to:
- Lead
a communication Centre of Excellence and act as Head of Profession
for all government communicators;
- Co-ordinate
cross-departmental communication to deliver better and more audience-focused
communication;
- Build capacity
across the communication function both at the organisational and
individual level
- Promote and uphold standards
of propriety which govern communication activity.
Progress
Driving change across government is
not a short-term programme but good progress has been made in
the last year. Key achievements include:
1. Securing buy-in from Permanent
Secretaries and Directors of Communication for a more strategic
vision for government communication with the needs of the
public firmly at its heart. There is recognition across government
that communication is not yet sufficiently two-way; with a culture
that is announcement, rather than engagement led. We have to increase
our understanding of citizen perspectives, attitudes and behaviours,
and use that insight to inform both policy and communication.
We must exploit all modern communication channels and techniques
to maximum effect and not focus all of our attention on traditional
favourites.
2. Establishing the Government
Communication Network (GCN) to replace the Government Information
and Communication Service (GICS). ln line with Phillis' recommendations,
the GCN encompasses all communication disciplines — press,
internal, stakeholder and electronic communication as well as
strategy and marketing experts. Critically it includes all those
working in government communication. It is not restricted to those
who were appointed through a specific recruitment process as the
old GICS was. GCN currently has over 3000 members and offers a
wider ranges of services including professional development, training,
GCN Live events and job opportunities. Its inclusivity
means that we can drive professionalism across all of government
communication.
3. Driving more effective co-ordination
on key cross-cutting priorities. This requires a flexible
approach ranging from helping to kick start cross-government co-ordination
(e.g. communicating Civil Service reform) to more direct and ongoing
involvement (e.g. communicating the Government's counter-terrorism
strategy).
4. Embedding communication into
the Professional Skills for Government programme (PSG). As
part of PSG Communication and marketing is now recognised as a
core skill for all Senior Civil Servants. This demonstrates both
the importance attached to communication and the buy-in that now
exists across the Civil Service for a more strategic approach.
5. Completing a review of the
propriety guidelines for government communication. The revised
guidelines published in January 2005 brought the guidance up to
date (e.g. covering new forms of media like the internet) while
maintaining the underlying principles of government communication
which have served successive administrations. More generally my
role provides Directors of Communication with another route for
resolving propriety based issues should they be unable to do so
through their department's own channels.
6. Ensuring the right people
are appointed to senior roles. As Permanent Secretary I have
been involved in all recent senior communication appointments
— including appointing Directors at OCA, DEFRA, Northern
Ireland Office, CPS, HMRC, Cabinet Office, DCMS, DTI and DFT.
The support of the centre helps ensure consistency in the role
and remit of these posts and a solid basis for improving departmental
capacity.
7. Launching
evolve an interactive professional development framework.
Evolve enables communicators across government to assess
their skills and compare them with those needed for their current
or future roles. The framework was developed with support from
the Chartered Institutes of Marketing and PR (CIM and CIPR) to
ensure that it meets the highest professional and industry standards.
I look forward to responding to your
questions and views when giving evidence on October 27.
October 2005
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