UK government departments slash X spending to near-zero as safety concerns mount

The UK government has dramatically reduced its spending on X (formerly Twitter) since July 2024, with most departments spending little to nothing on the platform following a safety assessment conducted by the Cabinet Office in 2023.

According to parliamentary answers provided to Conservative MPs Jack Rankin and Peter Fortune, six government departments have spent absolutely nothing with X over the period since July 2024. These include the Cabinet Office, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, HM Treasury, and the Home Office's communications directorate.

However, one department has notably bucked this trend. The Department for Education spent £27,118 with X across two periods: £4,834.80 in the nine months between July 1, 2024, and X's acquisition by xAI on March 28, 2025, followed by £22,283.32 over roughly ten months to January 19, 2026. Education minister Olivia Bailey stated this expenditure was for "sector comms and awareness" purposes.

Other departments that maintained minimal spending did so primarily for monitoring services rather than advertising. The Department for Transport spent £783.30 on X Premium and X Premium+ services, while the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spent just £9.60 in August 2024 "to use the livestreaming functionality available with X Premium at a departmental event," according to minister Dame Angela Eagle.

Justice minister Jake Richards confirmed that "Paid advertising on X was suspended in April 2023 following a Safe Framework assessment," with the platform now used only for organic, non-paid content to communicate policies and public services. The Ministry of Justice has spent nothing with X since July 2024.

The Safe Framework assessment mentioned by multiple ministers is a comprehensive evaluation tool used by the government's communications service when there are significant platform updates. Labour peer Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent told Liberal Democrat Lord Pack last July that X has only been used for unpaid communications activity since the most recent assessment in April 2023.

Interestingly, the Cabinet Office refused a Freedom of Information request in December to publish the Safe assessment of X, citing concerns that publication would undermine the formulation and development of government policy. However, officials did confirm that X had been most recently assessed during 2025, suggesting a review took place in the second half of last year.

The government's cautious approach to X comes amid broader concerns about the platform's direction under Elon Musk's ownership. The UK is currently investigating whether xAI's Grok AI chatbot broke the law by generating inappropriate content. Meanwhile, French authorities have raided Musk's Paris operations, and the EU is examining X following incidents involving deepfake sexual images.

Ofcom continues to monitor X despite the platform's attempts to fix issues with its Grok "nudify" feature. The regulator's ongoing scrutiny reflects wider concerns about content moderation and user safety on the platform.

The government's retreat from X mirrors actions taken by local authorities across the UK. Devon County Council and Southampton City Council have already stopped posting and monitoring their X accounts, while Oxfordshire County Council and the county's district councils have announced plans to close their accounts completely over the coming months.

Oxfordshire County Council cited declining effectiveness as an engagement channel and concerns about online safety in its decision. "In recent months, we have seen that X has become less effective as an engagement channel and has contributed to a less safe online environment for local communities," the council stated in late January. "We are deeply concerned about the rise in online hate speech and abuse targeting women and girls."

This coordinated withdrawal from X by both central government departments and local authorities suggests a significant shift in how UK public sector organizations view the platform's value and safety. While the Department for Education remains an outlier with its continued spending, the overwhelming trend points toward reduced government engagement with X as concerns about content moderation, user safety, and platform effectiveness continue to grow.

The situation highlights the challenges facing X as it attempts to maintain its position as a key communications platform while dealing with regulatory scrutiny, safety concerns, and declining trust from institutional users. As more government departments and local authorities reassess their presence on the platform, X may find itself increasingly isolated from official communications channels in the UK.

For now, the message from most of the UK government is clear: taxpayer money is better spent elsewhere than on X, with safety and effectiveness concerns outweighing any potential benefits of maintaining a presence on the platform.