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WQ.284/2021
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE CHIEF MINISTER
BY SENATOR S.Y. MÉZEC
QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 7th JUNE 2021 ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 14th JUNE 2021
Question
Will the Chief Minister provide, in relation to the States Communications Directorate ("Communications") (previously known as the States Communications Unit) –
- a breakdown of the monies spent annually by Communications over each of the last 5 years; and
- details of the number of staff employed in Communications during the same period?
Answer
2021
- 2017 2018 2019 2020 Spend Spend Spend Spend Spend (Jan to May)
£ £ £ £ £
Staff 460,113.86 772,745.11 1,831,922.16 2,093,089.02 966,928.16 Non-staff[1] 25,421.21 76,062.96 64,345.70 299,795.72 41,203.39
Total
Costs[2] 485,535.07 848,808.07 1,896,267.86 2,392,884.74 1,008,131.55
In 2017 the States of Jersey's Communications Unit was a small team which served Ministers and their departments. Alongside this small team, other people across government were also engaged in communications, either as their sole role, or as part of their role.
In addition, various departments paid external agencies for marketing, design, and PR services. An audit process in 2017 identified 38 distinct agencies/suppliers being used by the States of Jersey for communications-related support, much of which was for marketing. Spending estimates on external agencies for marketing, design, and PR services during this period are as follows:
• £3.5 million in 2015
• £2.7 million in 2016
• £1.8 million in the first half of 2017
This audit, carried out in October and November 2017, found that it was not possible to accurately identify the total cost of communications at the time, either in terms of staffing or total external spend. Following the audit, the new Communications Directorate was formally established in July 2018 as part of the new Target Operating Model, to consolidate communications staff into a single government communications function. The new communication function would also undertake Internal Communications and Marketing, Digital and Design activities.
Reporting Period Actual Headcount FTE 01/01/2017 6 4.1 01/02/2017 6 4.1 01/03/2017 6 4.1 01/04/2017 7 5.1 01/05/2017 7 5.1 01/06/2017 7 5.1 01/07/2017 6 4.1 01/08/2017 6 4.1 01/09/2017 8 6.1 01/10/2017 (Communications Transition Team appointed) 7 5.1 01/11/2017 6 4.1 01/12/2017 6 4.1 31/01/2018 4 3.2 28/02/2018 5 4.1 31/03/2018 5 4.1 30/04/2018 6 5.1 31/05/2018 6 5.1 30/06/2018 4 3.3 31/07/2018 (Communications Directorate Established) 6 5.3 31/08/2018 10 9.1 30/09/2018 15 14.9 31/10/2018 23 21.8 30/11/2018 24 22.9 31/12/2018 24 22.9 01/01/2019 26 24.9 01/02/2019 25 23.9 31/03/2019 29 27.9 30/04/2019 29 27.9 31/05/2019 30 28.7 30/06/2019 30 28.7 31/07/2019 30 28.7 31/08/2019 30 28.7 30/09/2019 29 27.7 31/10/2019 30 28.7 30/11/2019 30 28.7 31/12/2019 30 28.7 31/01/2020 32 30.0 29/02/2020 32 30.0 31/03/2020 31 29.3 30/04/2020 29 27.4 31/05/2020 32 27.4 30/06/2020 31 27.6 31/07/2020 34 30.6 31/08/2020 34 30.6 30/09/2020 35 31.9 31/10/2020 35 32.9 30/11/2020 35 32.9 31/12/2020 35 33.9 31/01/2021 36 34.8 28/02/2021 37 35.8 31/03/2021 39 37.8 30/04/2021 39 37.8
31/05/2021 39 37.8
As per the answer to WQ.216/2018, prior to 2018 a large number of staff across government had communications responsibilities as part of their role, and this was often not included in their job titles. Moreover, external agencies hired to provide PR or other support were hired on a project cost basis, which cannot be broken down into its component elements, such as staff time. It is unfortunately therefore not possible to give an accurate breakdown of comparable communications staff prior to 2018.
The transition from a Communications Unit to a centralised Communications Directorate has not only led to savings in marketing, design, and PR services but has also led to a significant increase in media output by the Government of Jersey as the below tables illustrate.
Table 1 – Social Media
2017 2021
Channel Followers Channel Followers Twitter 11,458 Twitter 20,200 Facebook 7,734 Facebook 40,772 Linkedin 3,924 Linkedin 12,211 Instagram 1,073 Instagram 10,400 YouTube 253 YouTube 1,640
Table 2 – Internal Comms
2017 2020
Internal updates Emails Internal updates Emails All colleague email 18 All colleague email 54 updates updates
All manager email 14 All manager email 56 updates updates
Table 3 – External Comms
2019
Press releases Media Queries Pieces of designed content
2020
706 Press releases 914 2,695 Media Queries 4,574 2,534 Pieces of designed 4,816
content
COVID Press 49 Conferences