The government agency that runs public information advertising campaigns is to close with the loss of up to 400 jobs.
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude has announced that the Central Office of Information will be replaced with a Communications Delivery Board.Government advertisements, which inform people about services or initiatives and raise awareness on issues like road safety, have been co-ordinated through the COI since 1946.
The COI spent nearly £532m in 2009/10, however, this will be cut to £168m this year. Maude said the abolition of the COI would save more money by cutting bureaucracy and reducing duplication. A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said they were looking to close the COI by April 1 next year.
Maude said the government remained committed to continuing to support essential communications campaigns, such as public health and armed forces recruitment. He added that the Communications Delivery Board would increase accountability in its advertising spending. Further reviews will examine how the government can best use its existing communications capacity in all Whitehall departments.
Maude said: ‘This does not mean the end of vital and cost-effective marketing campaigns – such as those campaigns that save people’s lives. However, it does mean that communications spending in the future will never again get out of hand and instead will be more transparent, better co-ordinated and less bureaucratic.’
The announcement was made as part of the government’s response to a review of the COI’s future, which reported in March. This called for the COI to be replaced by a government communication centre and recommended that the government advertise in fewer areas.
Prospect, the union representing government information professionals, criticised the decision and said there was no consultation or warning to staff ahead of the announcement.
General secretary Paul Noon said: ‘Staff are shocked and devastated. This has come completely out of the blue. Across government, ministers are centralising finance, human resources and procurement in order to save money and cut duplication. At COI a shared service that has worked well and is respected by the industry in which it operates is about to be chopped into little pieces. It makes no sense at all.’
