Infected blood scandal: Report blasts 'defensive' civil service spin
21 May 2024 Communications

Infected blood scandal: Report blasts 'defensive' civil service spin

Call for senior civil servants to face new statutory duties over advice to perm secs and ministers
by Jim Dunton
Perm sec-level job created to lead government comms as Simon Baugh departs
20 May Communications
Perm sec-level job created to lead government comms as Simon Baugh departs
Fact checker defends ex-perm sec over pension-reform claims
13 May Communications
Fact checker defends ex-perm sec over pension-reform claims
As the Freedom of Information Act turns 20, can it outwit the delete button?
03 Apr Communications
As the Freedom of Information Act turns 20, can it outwit the delete button?
Jonathan Van-Tam given prestigious award for Covid press briefings
24 Aug 2022 Communications
Jonathan Van-Tam given prestigious award for Covid press briefings
Royal Society says he played a critical role in public engagement during the Covid-19 pandemic
Cabinet Office officials told to check speakers' social media for 'problematic' comments
15 Aug 2022 Communications
Cabinet Office officials told to check speakers' social media for 'problematic' comments
New guidance aims to prevent invitations to speakers who have made discriminatory comments in the past
Revealed: Tony Blair taken to task by officials over poor performance at PMQs
28 Jul 2022 Communications
Revealed: Tony Blair taken to task by officials over poor performance at PMQs
Newly released papers reveal how the then-prime minister was heavily criticised by his own officials
'Disappointing': Cabinet Office rejects call for more transparency about secretive FoI unit
12 Jul 2022 Communications
'Disappointing': Cabinet Office rejects call for more transparency about secretive FoI unit
Government says releasing more data on the FoI Clearing House would be a “disproportionate use of resources”
Zahawi’s 'political' use of Treasury notepaper raises questions
11 Jul 2022 Communications
Zahawi’s 'political' use of Treasury notepaper raises questions
New chancellor called for Boris Johnson’s resignation on HMT headed notepaper
Don’t oversell benefits of post-Brexit trade deals, DIT warned
08 Jul 2022 Communications
Don’t oversell benefits of post-Brexit trade deals, DIT warned
MPs criticise "failure to maximise gains and minimise losses" in landmark Australia agreement
Cabinet Office rejects call to publish full review into FoI clearing house
06 Jul 2022 Communications
Cabinet Office rejects call to publish full review into FoI clearing house
Decision is “perhaps the biggest risk to public confidence in the process”, information commissioner says
Cabinet secretary urged to clamp down on No.10 press-office ‘lies’
06 Jul 2022 Communications
Cabinet secretary urged to clamp down on No.10 press-office ‘lies’
Press officers' integrity may be "just another piece of collateral damage from the prime minister’s behaviour", IfG says
DHSC admits record keeping fell short during pandemic as MPs probe sleaze row Exclusive
22 Jun 2022 Communications
DHSC admits record keeping fell short during pandemic as MPs probe sleaze row
Department says Randox meetings should have been better documented
DWP's repeated failures to publish research could undermine trust, MPs warn
20 Jun 2022 Communications
DWP's repeated failures to publish research could undermine trust, MPs warn
Committee demands explanation for lack of transparency, pointing to nine failures to release information
New cost-of-living tsar called Boris Johnson a 'lame duck PM'
15 Jun 2022 Communications
New cost-of-living tsar called Boris Johnson a 'lame duck PM'
Just Eat boss David Buttress has also said "Boris has to go" and called him a "dead man walking politically"
MPs seek assurances FoI clearing house review will be independent
27 May 2022 Communications
MPs seek assurances FoI clearing house review will be independent
PACAC also asks for information commissioner's take on terms of references for the review
Perm sec admits 'room for improvement' over Scottish Government correspondence delays
26 May 2022 Communications
Perm sec admits 'room for improvement' over Scottish Government correspondence delays
A quarter of ministerial correspondence replies missed their deadline, as did one in six FoI responses
Comms staff strategy shifts focus to 'sustainable' headcount reductions and regional rebalancing
18 May 2022 Communications
Comms staff strategy shifts focus to 'sustainable' headcount reductions and regional rebalancing
Government Communication Service pledges central team at Cabinet Office will shrink as part of three-year vision
PM warned over ninth misleading unemployment claim
17 May 2022 Communications
PM warned over ninth misleading unemployment claim
Stats watchdog criticises Boris Johnson as he continues to incorrectly state there are more people in employment than before the pandemic
Dark arts for dark times: a brief history of government propaganda
11 May 2022 Communications
Dark arts for dark times: a brief history of government propaganda
Russia is taking every opportunity to misdirect over Ukraine – but British governments have themselves struggled to maintain balance in previous propaganda campaigns
DfT to screen job applicants' social media accounts
05 May 2022 Communications
DfT to screen job applicants' social media accounts
Capita will also perform social media "recruitment checks" for would-be DVLA and DVSA staff
Lingo bingo: decoding the language of the boardroom
04 May 2022 Communications
Lingo bingo: decoding the language of the boardroom
The universal language of the boardroom pays dividends to those who can decode it, so here's a crash course
Home Office’s secretive anti-extremism comms unit signs £1m media monitoring deal
03 May 2022 Communications
Home Office’s secretive anti-extremism comms unit signs £1m media monitoring deal
RICU facility signs two-year contract
‘Wholesale undermining of transparency’: What do we know about the Cabinet Office clearing house?
28 Apr 2022 Communications
‘Wholesale undermining of transparency’: What do we know about the Cabinet Office clearing house?
Ahead of the release of a PACAC report into the secretive unit, CSW speaks to three FoI experts to find out their concerns about the clearing house
Prevent strategy 'will not survive' unless government counters critics, David Cameron says
26 Apr 2022 Communications
Prevent strategy 'will not survive' unless government counters critics, David Cameron says
Those who criticise the Home Office counter-radicalisation strategy are enabling terrorism, ex-PM says
Eight rules for communicating public health risk in a crisis – from horsemeat to Covid
06 Apr 2022 Communications
Eight rules for communicating public health risk in a crisis – from horsemeat to Covid
How has the government's crisis communications in the pandemic compared with Labour’s handling of swine flu in 2009 or the Coalition’s response to the horsemeat scandal in 2013?
Cabinet Office anti-misinformation unit buys £75k ‘social listening tool’
04 Mar 2022 Communications
Cabinet Office anti-misinformation unit buys £75k ‘social listening tool’
Rapid Response Unit's deal with software firm gives officials access to "unlimited searches"
DWP offers £120k a year for next comms chief
03 Mar 2022 Communications
DWP offers £120k a year for next comms chief
Recruitment campaign follows Lisa Hunter’s move to the Government Communication Service