Framework Agreement between the Department of Health and Public Health England. Annex C: Public-Facing Communications

Transcription

1 Framewrk Agreement between the Department f Health and Public Health England Annex C: Public-Facing Cmmunicatins

2 Framewrk Agreement between the Department f Health and Public Health England: Annex C Annex C: Public-facing cmmunicatins 1. This annex sets ut the principles that gvern hw Public Health England (PHE) and the Department f Health (DH) wrk tgether t deliver effective and cherent cmmunicatins in the spirit f cmmn purpse. 2. T ensure that cmmunicatin activities deliver real benefit fr patients, the public, cmmunities, stakehlders and the system itself, these principles underpin all cmmunicatins activities, creating an integrated cmmunicatins apprach fr the health and care system as a whle. 3. PHE and DH ensure that relevant senir fficials frm their cmmunicatins teams meet regularly t build effective wrking relatinships and design detailed wrking practices, such as thrugh the crss-system Arm s Length Bdies Directrs f Cmmunicatins. 4. The general principles underpinning the apprach t cmmunicatins t be fllwed by PHE and the DH are: mutual respect, c-peratin and n surprises value fr mney and aviding duplicatin a shared respnsibility t prmte and prtect the natin s health, aligning these activities where apprpriate the mst effective cmmunicatin using the mst apprpriate vice 5. The gvernment s decisin t establish PHE as an Executive Agency was driven by the need t prvide the peratinal autnmy necessary fr its scientific and prfessinal wrk t be, and t be seen as, independent frm DH. PHE s credibility will be based n its expertise, underpinned by its freedm t set ut the evidence, science, and prfessinal public health advice it presents withut fear r favur. 6. PHE is therefre free t publish r speak n issues relating t the natin s health and wellbeing in rder t set ut the prfessinal, scientific and bjective judgement f the evidence base. Ministers will remain respnsible and accuntable fr plicy decisins.

3 Framewrk Agreement between the Department f Health and Public Health England: Annex C Cmmunicatins strategy and planning 7. PHE and DH will develp annual cmmunicatins strategies setting ut their cmmunicatins bjectives and pririties. Where bjectives are the same, the rganisatins will wrk tgether t ensure the assciated activities are cherently aligned and add value t each ther. 8. As agreed by the Public Expenditure Cmmittee (Efficiency and Refrm) PEX(ER) and as required by the Cabinet Office annual crss-gvernment Practive Cmmunicatins plan, majr paid-fr cmmunicatins activity will be drawn tgether int an annual health cmmunicatin and marketing plan. The develpment f this is led by DH and PHE, fr the Health Hub. The Hub structure has been develped acrss gvernment t ensure value fr mney, reduce duplicatin and share expertise. 9. In additin, PEX(ER) agreed t a crss-gvernment freeze n paid-fr cmmunicatins activity and a prcess managed by the Cabinet Office s Efficiency and Refrm Grup (ERG). The prcess, and details f the peratin f the cntrl, is cmmunicated t PHE separately by DH. Media handling 10. PHE is respnsible fr establishing and maintaining independent relatinships with all thse interested in, r affected by its wrk, including the media. It has respnsibility fr dealing with media enquiries received relating t its wrk and the way in which it exercises its functins. 11. PHE and DH keep each ther infrmed f plans fr media annuncements. When it cmes t the attentin f DH r PHE that the media r any ther rganisatin is intending t make public infrmatin related t PHE r its wrk, PHE r DH will, where pssible, bring this matter t the attentin f the ther. 12. PHE and DH will, where pssible, bring t the attentin f cmmunicatins leads in each rganisatin issues creating media interest and expected media cverage which relates t the wrk f DH r PHE. Annuncements 13. T supprt the principle f partnership wrking described in the Framewrk Agreement and the cmmitment t n surprises, PHE and DH share a schedule f relevant planned annuncements weekly r frtnightly as apprpriate. These are treated in-cnfidence by the receiving parties and care taken with nward circulatin.

4 Framewrk Agreement between the Department f Health and Public Health England: Annex C 14. PHE and DH, where apprpriate, endeavur t give each ther as much ntice as pssible t enable early discussins n all aspects f the annuncement with relevant plicy and cmmunicatins leads frm each rganisatin. 15. PHE and DH als share, in cnfidence and principally fr infrmatin, a nearfinal draft f any relevant reprt t be published, including cnclusins, any executive summary and recmmendatins. Publicatins 16. Publicatins in this sectin refers t dcuments such as annual reprts, anything relating t the structure r peratin f the rganisatin, and statutry reprts such as accunts. It des nt include green r white papers r any ther significant statements f gvernment plicy. In these cases DH will cmmit t the principle f n surprises wherever pssible and endeavur t share drafts with PHE fficials fr cmment where apprpriate. 17. There are separate arrangements fr publicatin f fficial statistics and these are described in the Statistics sectin belw. 18. T supprt the principle f partnership wrking described in the Framewrk Agreement and the cmmitment t n surprises, PHE and DH share a schedule f relevant frthcming publicatins weekly r frtnightly as apprpriate. 19. PHE and DH will, except in exceptinal circumstances, share publicatins with each ther ten wrking days befre publicatin fr infrmatin and t allw clarificatin f any issues that may arise. PHE and DH fficials will liaise as necessary t prvide briefing n the publicatin. PHE and DH will, whenever pssible, send a final cpy f the publicatin t each ther s fficials at least three days befre publicatin. In exceptinal circumstances, this perid may be shrter and bth parties endeavur t allw as lng as pssible in such cases. 20. When it cmes t the attentin f DH r PHE that anther gvernment department r public bdy is intending t publish a reprt cncerning the ther party and its wrk, DH r PHE will, wherever pssible, bring this matter t the ther s attentin.

5 Framewrk Agreement between the Department f Health and Public Health England: Annex C Digital and channel strategy 21. DH and PHE will develp annual digital strategies setting ut their digital cmmunicatins bjectives and pririties. These strategies will fllw the principles set ut in the annual crss-gvernment digital strategy. 22. DH and PHE will use digital channels as their default channels fr cmmunicatins and services fllwing the "digital first" channel strategy fr health and care and the directin f travel set in the May 2012 Infrmatin Strategy fr health and care, The Pwer f Infrmatin. Campaign activity 23. Any majr, public-facing campaign activity shuld be incrprated int the annual health cmmunicatin and marketing plans develped by the Health Hub and agreed thrugh the ERG prcess. 24. PHE is respnsible fr develping an annual scial marketing strategy and running public-facing campaign activity accrding t the pririties, bjectives and financial allcatins set ut in the PHE Business Plan. PHE shall discuss this activity with DH in advance and ensure that DH has apprpriate pprtunities t infrm the thinking and ensure a strategic fit with ther campaigns acrss the health and care system. This will avid unnecessary duplicatin and inefficient use f resurce. Statistics 25. Pre-annuncement f statistical publicatins: the planned mnth f any statistical publicatins shuld nrmally be annunced at least 12 mnths in advance. The precise date shuld be annunced r cnfirmed at least 4 weeks in advance. T supprt the principle f c-peratin, PHE shall infrm the DH Statistics Team f any changes t planned publicatin dates fr Official Statistics 26. Sharing data in their final frm fr briefing: Official Statistics in their final frm, including any press release fr publicatin f fficial statistics, is shared with thse fficials and ministers fr whm pre-release access has been agreed n earlier than 24 hurs befre the frmal time f publicatin. Access fr briefing purpses is limited t requirements t brief ministers r thers wh may be required t cmment at the time f publicatin.

6 Framewrk Agreement between the Department f Health and Public Health England: Annex C A list f peple shuld be agreed 10 wrking days in advance by the PHE statistician respnsible fr the publicatin, wh will cnsult with the DH Head f Prfessin if they judge necessary (current DH mdels fr pre-release access may be cnsulted as a guide). PHE will nt prvide media with embarged access t the press release in advance f publicatin 27. Sharing pre-publicatin data fr ther purpses: Official Statistics may als, with the agreement f the PHE statistician respnsible fr the publicatin, be shared befre publicatin fr ther purpses as set ut belw: with DH analytical staff where thse staff are directly invlved in prducing the statistics, r related DH statistical prducts with named DH analysts and subject specialists, where there wuld be added value derived frm expert Quality Assurance (QA) either n the figures themselves, r n any statement f DH plicy psitins in the draft publicatin where DH fficials apply t PHE fr access fr a specified management purpse (if, fr example, it is evident that patient health r public finances wuld be prtected by granting such access) where up-t-date data are needed fr inclusin in a DH publicatin planned fr release at the same time r shrtly after the statistics are t be published with lcal partners, in particular lcal gvernment, t receive such infrmatin in rder t enable them t prepare as apprpriate fr ptential media and public interest 28. In all cases where pre-release access is agreed, the purpse, timings and names f individuals shuld be agreed in advance by the PHE statistician respnsible fr the publicatin, ensuring apprpriate cnsultatin with senir statisticians at PHE and DH Head f Prfessin. All pre-release access will be dcumented, and lists f peple granted access shall be made available n request. Where pre-release access has been granted, the pre-publicatin uses f the data will nt exceed the stated purpse.