Cameron tries to get Big Society adverts on TV – for nothing

For all those struggling to cope with those listless minutes between the end of Emmerdale and the start of Coronation Street, help may soon be at hand – the Big Society is coming to the small screen. The Government is in negotiations with commercial terrestrial television broadcasters over plans to provide a daily "Community Minute" of editorial airtime.

It is thought that the 60-second segments, to be shown on ITV, Channel 4 and Five, would aim to encourage people to get involved in their local community, showcasing specific projects. The Government would not pay the broadcasters to show the messages, as the time would be taken from editorial airtime, rather than replacing adverts.

It would however pay for the production costs, in a move that will attract controversy after the cutting of communications budgets elsewhere. Officials from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport have approached the three commercial public service broadcasting channels who are currently discussing the proposals.

The plan has come from the Cabinet Office, which is leading a review into Government communications, and is charged with the expansion of David Cameron's Big Society message.

The review includes plans to replace the Central Office of Information (COI), the government's marketing and communications agency, with an American-style Ad Council, which would use business and the media to promote Government campaigns and public service drives. The COI has already faced significant budget cuts.

Further details on the planned programmes were not available, although an announcement is expected in the coming weeks. A spokesman for the Cabinet Office said: "Government's paid-for communication and the role of the Central Office of Information (COI) is currently under review, to ensure that it delivers maximum efficiencies. We have already saved over 50 per cent this year by freezing non essential advertising and marketing, as part of the £6bn worth of efficiency savings committed to by the Government. The review will ensure that it continues to deliver maximum efficiencies after the freeze is lifted at the end of the financial year.

"As part of the review we are looking at a range of options, including how a US-style Ad Council model for Government advertising could work in the UK, as well as the possible introduction of a Payment-By-Results model for advertising agencies. The findings will be published when the review completes."

ITV, Channel 4 and Five did not respond to requests for comment.

The US Ad Council was set up, like the COI, during the Second World War. It now distributes public service messages by combining volunteer talent from the advertising industries, with resources from business and non-profit organisations. Unlike the COI, it receives no government funding.