Daily Mail no longer sets government agenda, MPs told

The days of the Daily Mail setting the government agenda are a thing of the past as ministers seek to communicate through new media and free newspapers, the Cabinet Office minister, Liam Byrne, told MPs today.

In evidence to the Commons public administration committee, Byrne responded to criticism from Paul Flynn, the Labour MP for Newport West, who accused the government of allowing tabloids to set the agenda, and Charles Walker, the Conservative MP for Broxbourne, who questioned the government's creation of a £120,000 director of digital engagement post in the Cabinet Office.

"What we have witnessed is a drop of the sale of tabloid newspapers, who now sell 22m fewer copies than in 1997, while viewers on TV news channels have collapsed," Byrne said.

"The growth is in the new media, with 100 million [people] on Facebook, YouTube and freesheets like Metro, and it is these people the government has to reach to deliver its services."

Questioned again by Flynn – who said people believed crime was rising because of what they read in the Mail – he insisted: "The idea that Daily Mail sets the agenda for government is in the past."

Walker expressed concern that the director of digital engagement in the Cabinet office would be "facilitating [the instant messaging service] Twitter" and encouraging ministers to spend all their time on the network "tweeting".

Byrne replied: "No, I will certainly will not [be tweeting]."

He justified the creation of the new post as part of the government's drive to deliver services over the internet. His junior minister, Tom Watson, uses Twitter.

Byrne told MPs his plan was to radically change the delivery of Whitehall services over the next decade.

He predicted that there would be further cuts in top Whitehall jobs and a reduction in the number of civil servants.

"I am only hesitating about this now because of the changed situation where, for example, we have had to hire people for front line jobs at Jobcentre Plus," he said.

"We will have a smaller core at the centre and be able to deliver better services."

He also predicted that more civil servants with frontline experience would gain promotion to senior positions and indicated that the division between policy and delivery would be over.

Relations between the government and business would change, he said, adding: "We are going to move from consultation to conversation and collaboration".

Byrne predicted that, in future, ministers would have a bigger role because they would have to oversee the public delivery of services as well as implementing policies.

He also revealed that he thought it took every minister "up to four months to get on top of the job" after being appointed, although that depended on the experience ministers brought to their post.

He cited the example of Lord Mandelson, the business secretary, as someone who had brought "a wealth of experience to the job" before he even started.