GCS achievements in 2023/24
Delivering impact
- The Ministry of Defence hosted 165 media outlets at UK training camps to promote Operation Interflex and showcase the UK’s continued solidarity with Ukraine. Operation Interflex has now trained 52,000 Ukrainian soldiers, the largest military training operation on British soil since the Second World War.
- The first phase of the ‘It All Adds Up’ energy efficiency campaign in 2023, led by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, is estimated to have saved UK households £120 million on energy bills – and saved HM Treasury £80 million through reduced demand on the Energy Price Guarantee.
- In support of the Royal Household, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport led the communications for the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla, generating 90 announcements and more than 100,000 news stories over the Coronation weekend. This included 37 UK splashes and 230,000 views of public guidance, reaching an estimated global audience of 2 billion in 125 countries.
- The cross-government ‘Help for Households’ campaign has resulted in 19m GOV.UK visits since its launch. In 2023/24, the campaign continued to bring together different cost of living support schemes under one brand – from childcare support to pension credit to the cost of living payments – and awareness of the support schemes reached over 80%.
- HM Revenue and Customs’ digital service campaign has successfully increased usage of their app. There are now 1.2 million monthly app users (up from 695,000 in April 2023). A specific focus was on driving usage among 16-21 year olds, who are responsible for 69% of all calls regarding National Insurance numbers. With a 6% increase in new app users between the ages of 16-20, phone calls to the National Insurance helpline were down 32.1% between April-December 2023.
- The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is supporting more young people to build digital skills and reach their potential by connecting them to the Government’s cyber security learning programme. Their digital and cyber skills campaign has helped to drive 74,408 programme registrations, compared to 45,000 in 2023.
- The Cabinet Office’s six-week Emergency Alerts campaign successfully raised public awareness of the national test among UK adults to 92%.
- VisitBritain’s international marketing campaigns resulted in £210 million worth of additional visitor spend, with the equivalent of £15 spent in the British economy for every £1 invested in the campaign.
- The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s campaign has proved an effective tool in keeping vehicle tax evasion low; 72% of campaign recognisers took action after seeing an advert in 2023 (e.g. checking their vehicle tax status, taxing their vehicle or setting up a direct debit).
Raising professional standards
- Introduced a 10% virtual innovation budget for campaigns as part of our spend control, leading to more than 30 innovation projects being piloted across Government.
- Launched GCS Advance, a substantial new learning and development programme that will deliver a measurable step change in the skills of UK Government communicators.
- Updated Modern Communications Operating Model (MCOM) 3.0 and the GCS Evaluation Cycle to support teams across GCS to develop outstanding government communications.
- 18,278 delegates attended Civil Service Live, with 80% saying they will do something differently as a result of attending events.
- Our new GCS AI co-pilot brings together a high-performing Large Language Model (LLM) overlaid by GCS data and standards to help communicators work more efficiently and effectively.
- GCS guidance and frameworks were recognised by the OECD as an international example of sector-leading practice.