Introduction
To ensure public funds are used effectively, the Government Communication Service (GCS) works with central government organisations to maintain the highest standards of cost-effectiveness and best practice across all campaigns. This guidance sets out the compliance requirements for navigating the Cabinet Office spending controls, outlining your organisation’s obligations and the exact steps required to secure formal spending approval.
Operated by the Cabinet Office on behalf of HM Treasury, these spending controls help organisations reduce unnecessary expenditure and encourage cross-government collaboration. They cover multiple categories, including advertising, marketing and communications (AMC).
The AMC spending control applies to campaigns, projects or programmes with planned communications expenditure of £100,000 or more within a financial year. Read the advertising, marketing, and communications controls guidance to learn more about the threshold and the types of expenditure within scope.
Breaches of the controls are serious and may lead to financial sanctions.
Approval process
There are three stages to getting approval for AMC spend above the £100,000 threshold.
Stage one: submit a strategic case
Before the beginning of the financial year (between October and December), departments and Arm’s Length Bodies submit an overview of any campaigns and programmes of communications planned for the next financial year. This is the strategic planning exercise.
Strategic cases are submitted via the Get Approval to Spend (GATS) tool. GCS then assigns a red, amber or green rating for each case. This rating determines the level of assurance applied to campaigns at the next stage.
Stage two: professional assurance
For campaigns rated red or amber, you must submit a technical case form in GATS and receive Cabinet Office approval before committing to spend above the threshold. Approval decisions for amber-rated cases are made by GCS senior officials. Decisions on red-rated cases are made by the relevant Cabinet Office minister. Your GCS lead can support you in developing your technical case.
Campaigns with a green rating are considered approved, subject to any conditions set. No technical case is required.
For any campaigns not included in the strategic planning exercise, cases are treated as red-rated and you must submit a technical case to GCS for approval. Unanticipated cases will be challenged and will only be accepted where the need for communications could not reasonably have been foreseen.
Technical cases must be approved by your organisation’s Director of Communications before being formally submitted. The expenditure must also have received all relevant internal approvals.
When your technical case is ready, send the completed template to communications.controls@cabinetoffice.gov.uk, copying in your GCS lead.
Stage three: meeting conditions
If your AMC spending control application is approved, you will receive a UK Government approval code. Include this code in all briefs and paperwork related to the case.
Approval may be subject to specific conditions. These will be set out in the decision letter sent to your Director of Communications and you will be asked to respond to these conditions in GATS.
Acceptance of any future applications will depend on you meeting conditions set on previous approvals. All approved campaigns must submit quarterly key performance indicator (KPI) reporting, as well as an end-of-year evaluation report to Government Communications. The report should outline results against the campaign’s objectives, identify any lessons learnt and provide recommendations for future activity.
Service level agreement
GCS works to a 21-calendar-day service level agreement (SLA) from the date a technical case is formally submitted. You should factor this into your planning for campaign delivery.
For cases submitted after midday, the SLA will start the following day. The SLA does not apply during parliamentary recess.
Support and further guidance
Your case will be overseen by one of the following GCS leads. Contact them through the Government Communications Member Directory.
- Economic growth: Ellen McPherson, Rachel Tynski
- Clean energy: Emma Hill
- Health and the NHS: Rachel Tynski, Ellen McPherson
- Opportunity: Alice Preedy-Hewson, Ailsa Brown
- Safer streets: Jenny Sheils, Ayesha Carmouche
- Recruitment: Emma Hill
- Safety: Ayesha Carmouche
- Public service delivery: Ailsa Brown, Rachel Tynski, Jenny Sheils
For general enquiries about the AMC spend control scope or process, contact communications.controls@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.
An online training course is also available in the Learning Hub (opens in new tab).