Government Departments: Political Activities
The question
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 29029 on FCDO: Speeches, what guidance his Department has issued on whether substantive and scripted Ministerial speeches in government buildings which are not ministerial residences can include party political content where such speeches are being broadcast live using government resources.
Answered by Georgia Gould
As outlined in the Ministerial Code, Government property should not generally be used for work that is in its essential nature about constituency or party political activities. The Permanent Secretary at the FCDO has explained that the essential nature of the speech in question was not party political. In line with the Government Communication Service Propriety & Ethics guidance, party political messaging should be removed before publication on gov.uk and was in this case.
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