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Guidance on the work of the
Government Information Service - Annex A

Government Publicity and Advertising


1 . This note sets out and provides guidance on the conventions which successive Governments have applied to their advertising and paid or unpaid publicity.

Propriety - Basic Conventions

2. The main conventions require that Government publicity:

i. should be relevant to Government responsibilities;

ii. should be objective and explanatory, not tendentious or polemical;

iii. should not be, or be liable to misrepresentation as being, party political; and

iv. should be conducted in an economic and appropriate way, having regard to the need to be able to justify the costs as expenditure of public funds.

General

3. These conventions continue to serve the Government and the public well. They are in general terms but have in practice provided an adequate basis for the exercise of judgement in individual cases. They are consistent with the principles set out in the new Civil Service Code, and complementary principles of Ministerial conduct, including the duty of Ministers to give Parliament and the public as full information as possible about the policies, decisions and actions of the Government, and not to deceive or knowingly mislead, and the duty not to use public resources for party-political purposes.

4. More detailed guidance on the application of the conventions to the main kinds of Government publicity is contained in the Guidance Note on the work of the Government Information Service, which also includes specific notes on Government use of public relations consultants, Government use of direct marketing, and value for money issues.

5. The conventions apply to both "paid" and "unpaid" publicity. "Paid" publicity includes paid advertising in the press, on radio and on television, government-produced or sponsored software and video material, leaflet campaigns, material placed on the Internet, exhibitions etc. "Unpaid" publicity includes papers presented to Parliament as White and Green Papers and other consultation documents which are sold to the public; press notices; public inquiry unit and other official briefing material (all of which may nevertheless involve some cost to public funds through Civil Service costs) and printed and other information which carries Government support but which may be paid for or sponsored by a third party.

6. Ministers and Heads of Department need to be on their guard against the dangers of inappropriate use of publicity. These can stem as much from context, treatment, style, tone and quality of presentation as from the actual text employed. Each of these will need to be examined. A publicity campaign, or individual components of it, needs to be closely scrutinised not only in detail but also for its overall effect. "Image building", whether explicit or implied, and whether of Government or Minister, is not acceptable. The test is whether a campaign, taken both as a whole and in part, can be justified as an effective response to a requirement to communicate with the public, or a particular section of it, on an issue of importance.

Paid Publicity

7. Departments, collectively, form a big purchasing group and as well as providing general information for the public, Government uses publicity to influence the social behaviour of individuals and businesses. It is right and proper for Government to use public funds and resources for publicity and advertising to explain their policies and to inform the public of the Government services available to them and of their rights and liabilities. These resources may not, however, be used to support publicity for party political purposes; this rule governs not only decisions about what may or may not be published but also the content, style and distribution of what is published. This basic rule covering all Government publicity and advertising has been accepted under successive Administrations.

Unsolicited Material

8. Distribution of unsolicited material must be carefully controlled. As a general rule, publicity touching on politically controversial issues should not reach members of the public unsolicited, except where the information clearly and directly affects their interests. The level of intrusion is highest for television, radio, newspaper and poster advertising and material delivered to people's homes, and lowest for material available only on request. The general rule is that leaflets etc may be issued:

a. in response to individual requests, or enclosed with replies to related correspondence; and

b. to organisations or individuals with a known interest or, with the organisation's agreement, in bulk for distribution at their own expense to their membership only.

Procedures

9. The responsibility for ensuring that the conventions on propriety are observed, and that value for money is being achieved, rests with Departments and in particular with departmental Ministers and Heads of Department. The principal source of advice to Ministers and Heads of Department in this field is the departmental Head of Information. Officials planning publicity or advertising campaigns should consult their Departmental Head of Information at the earliest stage and Heads of Department should ensure that the Head of Information always has sufficient opportunity to advise on proposals for paid publicity, as well as the departmental Finance Division.

10. If the departmental arrangements work well, the need for reference to central advice should be very limited. It is likely to arise in three distinct circumstances:

i. if a publicity proposal falls into a category where central reference is mandatory, as is at present the case for paid publicity in advance of legislative approval (see para 14);

ii. if a proposal is "novel or contentious" in expenditure terms, in which case reference to the Treasury would be expected under the rules in Government Accounting and the public expenditure conventions generally;

iii. where a Minister, Head of Department or Head of Information wanted a second opinion on the compatibility of a proposal with the current central guidance.

11. Departments will generally wish to seek professional advice on the most appropriate and effective ways of meeting their publicity objectives. Heads of Information are best placed to provide such advice, both directly and in consultation with the wide range of private sector specialists that they commission and manage. Heads of Information regularly exchange advice and experience with their opposite numbers in other Government Departments and, where necessary, consult the Central Office of Information.

12. The Treasury, and where necessary the Chief Secretary, Treasury, will continue to provide advice on value for money issues relating to Government publicity and advertising.

13. On matters of propriety, Departments should first turn to the Head of the Government Information Service. He/she will advise if the matter needs further consideration by the Machinery of Government and Standards Group, or the Head of the Home Civil Service.

14. Government publicity for proposals which are, or may become, the subject of legislation in Parliament remains a particularly sensitive area. Until such measures have become law, any Government publicity must neither assume nor anticipate Parliamentary approval. Ministers should therefore ensure that all proposals for paid publicity (including, for example, leaflets) about the contents of legislation in advance of Parliamentary approval, together with the proposed distribution of the material, are referred to the Secretary of the Cabinet and copied to the Minister for the Cabinet Office.