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Government communications vital in current climate, says REC MMC

Following the government’s announcement of the measures to cut public sector spending by £6.2 billion, REC MMC, the marketing, media and creative sector group, argues that investing in government communications is crucial in the current climate.

In his announcement earlier this week, Chancellor George Osborne outlined a package of measures including £1.5 billion cuts in consultancy costs with communications services being one of the targeted areas. 

Commenting on the proposed communication cutbacks, Konstantinos Makrygiannis, the REC’s MMC Policy Advisor said: 

“An interactive and open relationship between Whitehall and the public in difficult social, political and economic times like these is more essential than ever. It is only by effective government communications that this can be achieved. A cut in communication channels would lead to a less informed and less engaged public opinion in a period when politics is already faced with the mistrust of the electorate.  

“On the contrary, in an era of fragmented communications, the government should invest in modern means of communication to make sure that the right messages reach the widest possible audience.  This will be achieved more efficiently through specialist professionals than  through the civil service.

"The public sector should be looking to become more flexible, not less, to save money in the longer term as these short term cuts to specialist support could ultimately result in higher costs internally.”