| Welsh:Adran Diwylliant, Cyfryngau a Chwaraeon | |
100 Parliament Street – occupied by DCMS on the fourth and fifth floors | |
| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1997; 28 years ago (1997) |
| Preceding Department |
|
| Jurisdiction | Government of the United Kingdom |
| Headquarters | Parliament Street,London |
| Employees | 2,075[1] |
| Annual budget | £1.6 billion (current) and £1.1 billion (capital) for 2023–24 (planned)[2] |
| Secretary of State responsible | |
| Department executives |
|
| Website | gov |
TheDepartment for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is aministerial department of theGovernment of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility forculture andsport, and some aspects of themedia throughout the UK, such asbroadcasting. Its main offices are at 100Parliament Street, occupying part of the building known asGovernment Offices Great George Street.
It also has responsibility for thetourism,leisure andcreative industries (some jointly with theDepartment for Business and Trade). The department was also responsible for the delivery of the2012 Olympic Games andParalympic Games.
From 2017 to 2023, the department had responsibility for the building of adigital economy and was known as theDepartment for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.[3] The responsibilities for digital policy were transferred to the newly createdDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology in theFebruary 2023 cabinet reshuffle.
DCMS originates from theDepartment of National Heritage (DNH), which itself was created on 11 April 1992 out of various other departments, soon after theConservativeelection victory. The former ministers for theArts and forSport (both created in 1964) had previously been located in other departments.
DNH was renamed as theDepartment for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on 14 July 1997, under thepremiership of Tony Blair. It was renamed toDepartment for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 3 July 2017, stayingDCMS under thepremiership of Theresa May to reflect the department's increased activity in the digital sector.[4] The department was renamed back to theDepartment for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in February 2023, with responsibility for digital moving to the newDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology.
DCMS was theco-ordinating department for the successful bid byLondon to host the 2012 Olympics and appointed and oversees the agencies delivering the Games' infrastructure and programme, principally theOlympic Delivery Authority (ODA) andLOCOG.
TheJune 2007 Cabinetreshuffle led toTessa Jowell MP taking on the role ofPaymaster General and thenMinister for the Cabinet Office while remainingMinister for the Olympics. Ministerial responsibility for the Olympics was shared with Ms Jowell in theCabinet Office, but the staff of theGovernment Olympic Executive (GOE) remained based in DCMS.
Following the2010 general election, ministerial responsibility for the Olympics returned to the Secretary of State. AlthoughJeremy Hunt's full title wasSecretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, the department's name remained unchanged. On 4 September 2012, Hunt was appointed Health Secretary in a cabinet reshuffle and replaced byMaria Miller. Maria Miller later resigned due to controversy over her expenses. Her replacement was announced later that day asSajid Javid.
After the2015 general election,John Whittingdale was appointed as Secretary of State, tasked with initiating theBBC Charter review process. DCMS received full responsibility for the digital economy policy, formerly jointly held withBIS, and sponsorship of theInformation Commissioner's Office from theMinistry of Justice.
Whittingdale was replaced byKaren Bradley after thereferendum on the UK's membership of the EU in July 2016. TheOffice for Civil Society moved from theCabinet Office to DCMS as part of the same reshuffle.
In January 2018,Matt Hancock, previous Minister of State for Digital, was appointed Secretary of State as part of a Cabinet reshuffle. In the 9 July 2018 reshuffle,Jeremy Wright became the Secretary of State.Nicky Morgan became Secretary of State in July 2019; she stood down as an MP at the2019 United Kingdom general election but was ennobled as Baroness Morgan of Cotes and retained her position from within theHouse of Lords. As part of the 13 February 2020 reshuffle,Oliver Dowden MP was appointed Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.Nadine Dorries succeeded on 15 September 2021. In July 2022, Dorries personally grantedGrade II-listed status to a plaque ofCecil Rhodes which she believed is of "special historic interest".[5] This decision attracted controversy. On 5 September 2022, in anticipation of the appointment ofLiz Truss as Prime Minister, Dorries tendered her resignation as culture secretary.
It is responsible forgovernment policy in the following areas:
Other responsibilities of DCMS includelisting of historic buildings,scheduling of ancient monuments, export licensing ofcultural goods, and management of theGovernment Art Collection (GAC).
The Secretary of State has responsibility for the maintenance of the land and buildings making up the historic Royal Estate under theCrown Lands Act 1851. These inherited functions, which were once centralised in theOffice of Works, are now delivered as follows:
The department also has responsibility for state ceremonial occasions and royal funerals. However, responsibility for theCivil List element of head-of-state expenditure and income from the separateCrown Estate remains with theChancellor of the Exchequer.
DCMS works jointly with theDepartment for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) ondesign issues, including sponsorship of theDesign Council, and on relations with thecomputer games andpublishing industries.
DCMS works withlocal community system providers in broadcasting service via TV and Internet channels. In September 2022, it managed to hold a home office visit activity for media and data security knowledge sharing across different government departments.
DCMS organises the annualRemembrance Day Ceremony at theCenotaph and has responsibility for providinghumanitarian assistance in the event of adisaster. In the government's response to the7 July 2005 London bombings the department coordinated humanitarian support to the relatives of victims and arranged the memorial events.
DCMS has also supported cyber initiatives[6] such asCyber Discovery and the UK Cyber Security Forum[7] to support innovation in the cyber industry.
The DCMS ministers are as follows, with cabinet ministers in bold:[8]
| Minister | Portrait | Office | Portfolio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lisa NandyMP | Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport | The Secretary of State has overall responsibility for strategy and policy across the department and management of the UK transition for the department. | |
| Ian MurrayMP | Minister of State for Creative Industries, Media and Arts | Arts; Creative Industries; Media; Cultural Diplomacy and Soft Power; Gambling, Heritage, Libraries and Museums (in the Commons) | |
| Stephanie PeacockMP | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Tourism, Civil Society and Youth | Sport; Tourism; Civil society; Youth; Loneliness and social connection; Impact Economy; Ceremonials | |
| Fiona Twycross, Baroness Twycross | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Museums, Heritage and Gambling | Museums and cultural property; Heritage; Gambling ; Libraries; The National Archives; Corporate Minister and Legislation; DCMS business in the House of Lords |
On 7 February 2023, it was announced that the Department'sPermanent Secretary role would be performed on an interim basis by Ruth Hannant and Polly Payne (job share).[9]
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The DCMS sponsors a wide range of organisations. It has policy responsibility for threestatutory corporations and two public broadcasting authorities. These bodies and their operation are largely independent of government policy influence.
DCMS works with two non-ministerial departments:
The public corporations are:
The DCMS sponsors the following executivenon-departmental public bodies including a number of museums and galleries:
The DCMS sponsors the following advisory non-departmental public bodies:
DCMS also has responsibility for one other body classified by theOffice for National Statistics as being within the central government sector:[10]
DCMS is also the major financial sponsor of the following bodies, which are not classed as part of the UK central government:
ANational Audit Office report published in 2005 estimated that the department and its wide range of sponsored organisations collectively spent about £575 million each yearpurchasing goods and services. The report recommended better co-ordination and aggregation in planning how this public money was spent so as to promote its more efficient use.[11]
Sponsorship of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) transferred to theDepartment for Innovation, Universities and Skills in June 2007. TheMuseum of London transferred to theGreater London Authority on 1 April 2008.
DCMS formerly sponsored eight Regional Cultural Consortiums with NDPB status. In July 2008, DCMS announced that the consortiums would be phased out over a twelve-month period and replaced by a new alliance of the regional teams of Arts Council England, Sport England, English Heritage and the MLA.[clarification needed]
Culture, sport and tourism aredevolved matters, with responsibility resting with corresponding departments in theScottish Government inScotland, theWelsh Government inWales and theNorthern Ireland Executive inNorthern Ireland.
Media-related policy is generallyreserved to Westminster i.e. not devolved. These areas include:
Reserved matters:[12]
Scotland'scomparability factor (the proportion of spending in this area devolved to the Scottish Government) was68% for 2021/22.[13]
Reserved matters:[14]
Wales'comparability factor (the proportion of spending in this area devolved to the Welsh Government) was67.7% for 2021/22.[13]
Reserved matters:[15]
The department's main counterparts in Northern Ireland are as follows:[16]
Northern Ireland'scomparability factor (the proportion of spending in this area devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive) was69.9% for 2021/22.[13]