UK Government communications chief ticks off Wales Office over ‘party political’ post

Martin Shipton

The head of the UK Government’s Communication Service has partially upheld concerns about the alleged misuse of the Wales Office’s social media account for party political purposes.

Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens had been accused by her then Tory Shadow Lord Davies of appearing in a “politically-charged” video filmed in her department in breach of official rules.

In a letter to Ms Stevens, Lord Davies said: “I write to you seeking an urgent explanation as to why your department deemed it appropriate to create and subsequently post a politically-charged video across all its social media platforms.

“In the video posted earlier this week, the Secretary of State for Wales said: ‘I was very clear about what we, as a government, wanted to achieve and what I wanted to achieve in this role on behalf of the Wales Office, which was to reset the relationship with Welsh Government, so moving from that sort of squabbling, fractious, tense relationship … where the Wales Office was essentially a platform for giving Wales a good kicking.’

“The video, which was filmed inside the department and posted across social media, is highly political in nature, as I know you will agree.

“The severity of the situation worsens given it also breaches the Civil Service Code, which states: ‘You must not act in a way that is determined by party-political considerations or use official resources for party-political purposes.’

“The political video was, quite clearly, determined by a party-political consideration then assembled using official resources.

“It is shocking to see taxpayer-funded resources being misappropriated for pure party-political gain and therefore I call for a swift investigation to uncover the full details of why this situation was allowed to unfold. I also believe it is in the public interest for the Secretary of State for Wales to formally apologise for bringing the department into disrepute.

“In the interests of transparency, I am also copying in the Cabinet Secretary.

“I look forward to hearing the next steps in respect of my request.”

Regret

At the time a Wales Office spokesperson said: “The Secretary of State outlined government policy regarding the reset of the relationship between the UK and Welsh governments.

“There is nothing improper in expressing regret about the manner in which the previous administration conducted itself and the disrespect that it had for the Welsh Government and devolution.”

But in a letter to Lord Davies’ successor as Shadow Secretary of State Mims Davies MP, the chief executive of the Government Communication Service Simon Baugh has now said: “The Government Communication Service has published clear guidelines and mandatory training on the use of social media by civil servants, including on official accounts. The guidance sets out that posts on official accounts should not contain party political material within the body of the message or contained within links.

“Official accounts must not be used for the further dissemination of messages from party political or otherwise partisan accounts. They must also be sensitive to tone and guard against perceived attacks on particular interests, organisations or individuals.

“My team provides comprehensive and mandatory training for Government communications professionals to ensure that these rules are understood. We also regularly reinforce the obligations through bespoke sessions with Directors of Communication and their teams.

“In this particular case, while the text of the post echoed a short section of an HM Treasury press release, I acknowledge that it could have been better phrased, and I have discussed the matter with the Wales Office.

“Many thanks for getting in touch on this important matter.”

Political post

Ms Davies said: “I welcome the Director General of UK Government Communication’s response to my letter highlighting what I believed to be an overtly political post issued with civil service resources on the Wales Office departmental social media account following the Labour Budget.

“He has agreed in his reply it “could have been better phrased” and has “spoken” with the Wales Office.

“We now need the Secretary of State for Wales to step up and apologise for this conduct in politicising our impartial civil servants and then focus on actually delivering something for the people of Wales.”

Ms Stevens did not reply, but a Wales Office spokesperson said: “The Wales Office follows guidance set out by the Government Communication Service and mandatory training is undertaken on the use of social media on official government channels.

“The post in question highlighted how the UK Government is investing in Wales. This matter has been discussed with the Wales Office Director to ensure continued compliance with guidelines.”