Grahame Morris MP questioned Cabinet Office Minister Penny Mordaunt MP about the effectiveness of cross-Government communications during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Minister Penny Mordaunt replied: “We evaluate the effectiveness of Government communications, we constantly monitor and gain insights on public awareness and compliance from regular evaluations, and this question affords me the opportunity to pay tribute to the COI, not just for its work on Covid-19, but also in preparation for the end of the transition period.”

Mr. Morris went on to ask: “I thank the Minister for that, and the Cabinet Secretary said consistency commands confidence, and we all heard the Prime Minister’s advice last week on TV telling us to work from home again where possible to slow down a second wave of coronavirus.

However, according to the PCS Union, civil servants who have managed stoically, even heroically, during the crisis to keep the machinery of State running, while mainly working from home, have now been instructed to return to their offices in order for the Departments to hit arbitrary and outdated Cabinet Office targets.

The Government is saying one thing to the country, and something entirely different to its own workforce. Can the Minister correct this anomaly?”

The Minister replied, “I would be very interested if the Honourable Gentleman has examples of that. As far as I am aware, there are certain areas of Government which do require people to come in and work, for example, some of the things that the Cabinet Office deals with have to be done in a secure environment.

We are following the same rules and guidelines that the rest of the UK workforce is, so if he’s got specific examples he wants me to look at, please send them to me.”