London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 28, 2025

Radical shake-up of civil service comms to be in place by April 2022

Radical shake-up of civil service comms to be in place by April 2022

Voluntary redundancies considered as part of No 10 plan to slim down and centralise communications teams
Downing Street has ordered that a radical shake-up to slim down and centralise civil service communications teams as part of a major Whitehall overhaul should be in place by April 2022, a leaked memo reveals.

The plans could include ordering cuts to staff at arm’s-length bodies (ALBs) that scrutinise government. Staff were told that voluntary redundancies could be considered, despite the memo acknowledging staff were “exhausted and feeling the impact of being away from your friends, families and colleagues”.

In the leaked memo from Alex Aiken, the civil service chief in charge of communications, staff were told that Boris Johnson is pushing ahead with plans for major Whitehall overhaul, despite the departure of his chief of staff Dominic Cummings, who had made civil service reform a key part of his agenda.

“The prime minister has been clear he expects the major structural changes to be delivered by April 2022, and the new operating model for [government communications] is an important first step,” the memo to staff said.

Questions have been raised about the extent to which the overhaul will affect communications staff at ALBs like regulators such as Ofcom or the Office for National Statistics, some of which have roles scrutinising government. Around 60% of government communications staff work in ALBs, the strategy says.

Though it suggests those staff will not be brought under the centralised system, it warned there are still aims to make cuts to the workforce.

“Our focus is less about a single employer model … As with departments, it is right that we consider the size of their communication functions,” it says.

Amy Leversidge, assistant general secretary of civil service union the FDA, said the announcement would “set hares running for staff who will be concerned that this crosses a line and that ALBs should be able to determine the size of their teams based on what is right for them, based on their experience, expertise and understanding of the complexities of their areas”.

The memo from Aiken says teams and individuals will have their situation confirmed by the autumn. “This will include future models, team sizes, roles and processes being confirmed, consulted and implemented by April 2022,” Aiken says.

He confirmed the government is “exploring the potential for voluntary exit schemes” in order to cut staff numbers, “as well as continuing work around how we can become a smaller, more unified profession”.

The move will be a major overhaul of civil service press offices, including social media teams and designers who will be working for a central government employer rather than their individual department.

Leversidge said the memo would increase uncertainty and anxiety. “The message today that GCS are ‘exploring voluntary exit schemes’ will heighten fear among staff who are already concerned that there will be reductions in the numbers of comms staff,” she said.

“The fact that GCS have not discussed voluntary redundancies with the trade unions will leave staff feeling that decisions are being made about them without any consultation with them.”

The plan to centralise communications was first announced as part of a blitz of measures to extend Downing Street’s central control across the civil service.

The measures for centralising communications have long been mooted, predating Johnson, but previous internal documents have said they have been spurred on by the prime minister’s personal backing.

The Cabinet Office has been contacted for comment.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
×