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New WhatsApp Channel will communicate important information
directly to people’s phones.
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System is entirely opt-in and will amplify key messages like
information on childcare support and cost of living
payments.
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Town crier announces launch of new communication channel
outside Parliament.
The Government has launched a new account on WhatsApp Channels,
allowing members of the public to subscribe to receive important
updates to their phones.
WhatsApp Channels are used by a range of organisations, from news
sites to football clubs and increasingly by Governments -
providing single message alerts or updates to anyone subscribed
to them.
WhatsApp makes it clear that the channels are one-way only and
users can opt in or out at any time.
Cabinet Office Minister said:
We are always looking for new ways to communicate with the
public. WhatsApp is a hugely popular platform in the UK so
we hope our new and entirely opt-in WhatsApp channel will be a
useful way of providing people with updates from the government.
We’re looking forward to seeing how people respond to this
service and will develop it over time based on users’ feedback.
Helen Charles, Director of Public Policy at WhatsApp Europe said
We’re pleased that the UK Government is using WhatsApp Channels
to give people in the UK better access to reliable information
through the most private broadcast service available.
As a trusted, verified account the UK Government channel will
focus on reiterating important information which is relevant
directly to the public in areas like updating on public services,
news updates that affect a large part of the population or
pointing to new guidance and public resources.
Like any new communications method being used by Government - the
UK Government channel will be continuously reviewed to ensure
that it is being used effectively to provide timely and
relevant information. Users can expect to regular updates from
across government on a weekly basis.
From Tuesday followers of the UK Government WhatsApp channel will
be notified that they can get discounted rail tickets from the
Great British Rail Sale
Examples of other UK Government channel posts include:
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Reiterating public health advice like announcing winter flu
jabs
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Deadline reminders like self-assessment tax return deadlines
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New information on extra support the public can receive, like
cost of living payments and government-linked discounts and
other benefits
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Childcare support updates
The Government will also use the channel to share trusted and
essential information from partner organisations like UK Health
Security and Public Health England health alerts.
The channel will be a publicly run information service, similar
to gov.uk or official
government social media accounts. It will not be used for
political or campaign purposes and will be managed by government
officials.
Anyone with a WhatsApp account can follow the new UK
Government WhatsApp channel by searching for ‘UK Government’ in
the ‘Updates’ section of the app and choosing to follow the
account.
The channel is entirely separate from the national emergency
alerts system, which was tested in 2023 and which provides alerts
only when there is a direct risk to life. Unlike emergency
alerts, users must opt-in via WhatsApp to subscribe to the
Government WhatsApp channel.
Critical information and updates will always be published to
gov.uk - the UK Government’s
official website, in the usual way, and the WhatsApp channel will
help amplify information to those who opt in. The channel is
intended to help reach more members of the public who might not
otherwise receive Government updates.
To mark the launch of this new channel of communication, town
crier Alan Myatt made a public announcement outside
Parliament. The video of this can be found here: https://youtube.com/shorts/a6tBIBsD0eQ
You can subscribe to the UK Government WhatsApp Channel here:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaGDHQ6GpLHKEdlUt03L
