UK GOVT BANS CIVIL SERVANTS FROM SPEAKING FOR THE GOVT IN PUBLIC-Critics says such action threatens public discourse
The UK government has issued guidance banning civil servants from any level of speaking at public events where journalists are present or from answering questions.
The guidance, sent out from No 10, was issued to ensure that ministers, rather than senior civil servants, were the spokespeople for the government and at the forefront of communications with the public.
Senior officials may be allowed to speak at public events on a case-by-case basis if they have gone through rigorous clearance requirements and inform No 10 so that it can be scheduled or “gridded”.
The civil servants have been told that any event where media are present or where they might have to take part in a question and answer session ‘should not go ahead’. Civil servants in response have stated that the guidance had already had a chilling effect on engagement with the world outside Whitehall.
Senior personnel at the Institute of Government who have stated that the action was an overreach and will damage the quality of government and public discourse, said ‘The No 10 communications team has banned any official from speaking at events that include question and answer sessions, or where the media are expected to be in attendance, seemingly so that ministers are the only, rather than the primary, people able to represent the government in public.’
