The
Department for Culture, Media and Sport (
DCMS) is a department of the United Kingdom government, with responsibility for culture and
sportSport plays a prominent role in English life. Popular team sports in England are association football, cricket, rugby union and rugby league. Major individual sports include athletics, tennis, golf, motorsport, and horseracing...
in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and some aspects of the media throughout the whole UK, for example broadcasting. It also has responsibility for the
creative industriesThe phrase creative industries refers to a set of interlocking industry sectors that focus on creating unique property, content or design that previously did not exist. Economic contributions from creative industries have been increasing, particularly as manufacturing industries have become...
(some joint with
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory ReformThe Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform was a United Kingdom government department. The department was created on 28 June 2007 on the disbanding of the Department of Trade and Industry , and was itself disbanded on 6 June 2009 on the creation of the Department for Business,...
) and
tourism in EnglandTourism plays a significant part in the economic life of England.Many English people travel abroad, which takes money out of the country.However, many other people come to England as tourists, and this is economically beneficial...
.
Culture, sport and tourism are devolved matters, with responsibility resting with corresponding departments in the Scottish Government in
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, the
Welsh Assembly GovernmentThe Welsh Assembly Government was firstly an executive body of the National Assembly for Wales, consisting of the First Minister and his Cabinet from 1999 to 2007....
in
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
and the
Northern Ireland ExecutiveThe Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998...
in
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
The main offices are at 2–4 Cockspur Street,
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, SW1Y 5DH.
Ministers and Permanent Secretary
The current ministerial team at the DCMS are:
- Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport is a United Kingdom cabinet position with responsibility for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The role was created in 1992 by John Major as Secretary of State for National Heritage, and took on its current title on 14 July 1997...
- The Rt Hon. Ben Bradshaw MPBenjamin Peter James Bradshaw is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Exeter since 1997, and currently serves in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.-Biography:...
- Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Culture and Tourism - Margaret Hodge MP
Margaret Eve, Lady Hodge, MBE is a British politician and Labour Party Member of Parliament for Barking...
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communications, Technology & Broadcasting - Baron Carter of Barnes
Stephen Andrew Carter, Baron Carter of Barnes, CBE , is a Scottish former businessman and politician who was previously Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting in the United Kingdom Government.-Biography:...
(jointly with BISThe Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is a ministerial department of the United Kingdom Government created on 6 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform .- Ministers for BIS...
)
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport - Gerry Sutcliffe MP
Gerard "Gerry" Sutcliffe is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Bradford South since 1994, and is currently serving in the government as Minister for Sport and Tourism.- Biography :...
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Creative Industries - Sion Simon
Siôn Llewelyn Simon is a politician in the United Kingdom. He has been Labour member of Parliament for Birmingham Erdington since 2001...
MP
The
Permanent SecretaryThe Permanent Secretary, in most departments officially titled the Permanent Under-Secretary of State , is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis...
is Jonathan Stephens.
History and responsibilities
Before 1997, DCMS was known as the
Department of National Heritage, which was in turn created out of various other departments in 1992. The former
Ministers for the ArtsIn the United Kingdom government, the Minister for the Arts is a ministerial post, usually at junior or Minister of State level. The post has been in a variety of ministries, but after 1997 it has been a Minister of State position in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. From 1992 to 1997,...
and for Sport had previously been located in other departments.
The DCMS was the co-ordinating department for the successful bid by London to host the 2012 Olympics and appointed and oversees the agencies delivering the Games' infrastructure and programme, principally the
Olympic Delivery AuthorityThe Olympic Delivery Authority is the statutory corporation responsible for ensuring delivery of venues, infrastructure and legacy for the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in London...
and LOCOG. Following the
7 July 2005 London bombingsThe 7 July 2005 London bombings, also known as 7/7, were a series of coordinated suicide attacks on London's public transport system during the morning rush hour...
the department was given the responsibility of co-ordinating humanitarian support to the relatives of victims and to arrange memorial events.
Its five strategic priorities are children and young people, communities, delivery, economy and via the Government Olympic Executive, the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and its legacy. It is responsible for government policy in the following areas:
- Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group. An important group of acohols is formed by the simple acyclic alcohols, the general formula for which is C
nH
2n+1OH...
and entertainmentAn entertainment is any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time.Entertainment is typically passive - as in watching opera or a movie. Activities which involve participating in games or sports are more often considered to be recreation...
- Architecture
For a topical guide to this subject, see Outline of architecture. Architecture is the art and science of designing and constructing buildings and other physical structures for human shelter or use....
and designDesign is the planning that lays the basis for the making of every object or system. It can be used both as a noun and as a verb and, in a broader way, it means applied arts and engineering . As a verb, "to design" refers to the process of originating and developing a plan for a product,...
- Arts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is most famous for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
- Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or video signals which transmit programs to an audience. The audience may be the general public or a relatively large sub-audience, such as children or young adults....
- Creative industries
The phrase creative industries refers to a set of interlocking industry sectors that focus on creating unique property, content or design that previously did not exist. Economic contributions from creative industries have been increasing, particularly as manufacturing industries have become...
- Cultural property
- Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods. Typically, the outcome of the wager is evident within a short period....
and racingthumb|right|Air racing: Hungarian aerobatics pilot Peter Besenyei at speed in his Extra 300 at an air race in EnglandA sport race is a competition of speed, against an objective criterion, usually a clock or to a specific point. The competitors in a race try to complete a given task in the shortest...
- Historic environment
- Libraries
- Museums and galleries
An art gallery or art museum is a space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museum can be public or private but what distinguishes a Museum is the ownership of a collection. Paintings are the most commonly displayed art objects; however, sculpture, photographs, illustrations,...
- National Lottery
The National Lottery is the largest lottery in the United Kingdom. It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by The National Lottery Commission. The National Lottery undertook a major rebranding programme in 2002...
- Sport
Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determinant of the outcome , but the term is also used to include activities such as...
- Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other...
The DCMS also manages the
Government Art CollectionThe United Kingdom's Government Art Collection places works of art in major Government buildings in the UK and around the world to promote British art, culture and history....
.
The Secretary of State has responsibility for the maintenance of the Royal Estate under the Crown Lands Act 1851. These inherited functions, which were once centralised in the
Office of WorksThe Office of Works was established in the English Royal household in 1378 to oversee the building of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it became the Works Department within the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Works and Buildings...
, are now delivered as follows:
- The Royal Parks are maintained by an executive agency
An executive agency, also known as a next-step agency, is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate in order to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly or Northern Ireland...
within DCMS, the Royal Parks Agency;
- The Unoccupied Royal Palaces in England are managed by a contract with Historic Royal Palaces
Historic Royal Palaces is an independent charity created in 1998 to manage Britain's unoccupied royal palaces. These are:* The Tower of London* Hampton Court Palace* Kensington Palace - the state rooms only.* Banqueting House* Kew Palace...
;
- Maintenance of the Occupied Royal Palaces in England is funded by an annual Grant-in-Aid to the Royal Household
The royal Households of the United Kingdom are the organised offices and support systems for the British Royal Family, along with their immediate families...
DCMS also provides funding to the Royal Household for Royal Communications and Information and the maintenance of
Marlborough HouseMarlborough House is a mansion in Westminster, London, in Pall Mall just east of St James's Palace. It was built for Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, the favourite and confidante of Queen Anne. The Duchess wanted her new house to be "strong, plain and convenient"...
. However, responsibility for the
Civil List-United Kingdom:In the United Kingdom the Civil List is the sum that covers most expenses associated with the Sovereign performing of his or her state duties, including those for staffing, state visits, public engagements, official entertainment, and upkeep of the Royal...
element of Head of State expenditure and income from the
Crown EstateIn the United Kingdom, the Crown Estate is a property portfolio owned by the Crown. Historically the possession of monarchs, it is no longer the private property of the reigning monarch and cannot be sold by him/her, nor do the revenues from it belong to the monarch personally. It is managed by an...
remains with the
Chancellor of the ExchequerThe Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called The Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
. The Department also has responsibility for state ceremonial occasions and royal funerals.
Bodies sponsored by DCMS
The DCMS has policy responsibility for three
statutory corporationA statutory corporation is a corporation created by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction thus they might be ordinary companies/corporations owned by a government with or without other shareholders, or they might be a body without shareholders which is controlled by national or...
s and two public broadcasting authorities. These bodies and their operation are largely independent of Government policy influence.
The statutory corporations are:
- Channel Four Television Corporation
Channel 4 is a UK public-service television broadcaster which began working on November 2, 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station owned now and operated by the Channel Four Television...
- Historic Royal Palaces
Historic Royal Palaces is an independent charity created in 1998 to manage Britain's unoccupied royal palaces. These are:* The Tower of London* Hampton Court Palace* Kensington Palace - the state rooms only.* Banqueting House* Kew Palace...
- Horserace Totalisator Board (The Tote
The Horserace Totalisator Board, more commonly known as The Tote, is a British bookmaker with head offices in Wigan. Under the brand totesport the Tote has over 540 high street betting shops, outlets on Britain's 60 racecourses, as well as internet and call centre divisions...
)
The public broadcasting authorities are:
- British Broadcasting Corporation
The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
- Welsh Fourth Channel Authority
The Welsh Fourth Channel Authority regulates S4C , the Welsh-language television station of Wales. It is not connected to Ofcom, or any other regulator, and exists purely to ensure the quality of the channel. The Authority's Chair and members are appointed by the Secretary of State for Culture,...
which regulates and manages S4CS4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fourth oldest British terrestrial television channel S4C , currently...
In addition, responsibility for the Office of Communications (
OfcomThe Office of Communications or, as it is more often known, Ofcom, is the independent regulator and competition authority for the communication industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established in the enabling device, the , but received its full authority from the Communications...
) is shared with the
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory ReformThe Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform was a United Kingdom government department. The department was created on 28 June 2007 on the disbanding of the Department of Trade and Industry , and was itself disbanded on 6 June 2009 on the creation of the Department for Business,...
(BERR).
The DCMS sponsors the following non-departmental public bodies:
- Arts Council of England
- Big Lottery Fund
The Big Lottery Fund is a grant-making non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom created by the Government to administer the funding of "good causes" following the creation of the National Lottery. It has an annual expenditure of £630 million...
formed by the 2006 merger of:
- Millennium Commission
- National Lottery Charities Board (Community Fund)
- New Opportunities Fund
- British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
(BFI)
- British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is located in London and is one of the world's largest research libraries, holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats; books, journals, newspapers, magazines, sound and music recordings, patents,...
- British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture situated in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from...
- British Tourist Authority
VisitBritain is the tourist board of the United Kingdom.[ - Northern Ireland section of the VisitBritain website]VisitBritain was created in April 2003 to market the UK to the rest of the world and to promote and develop its visitor economy...
(VisitBritain)
- Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment
The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment is an executive non-departmental public body of the UK government, established in 1999. It is funded by both the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Communities and Local Government.CABE is the government’s...
(CABE)
- English Heritage
English Heritage . is a non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom government with a broad remit of managing the historic built environment of England. It is currently sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
(formally the Historic Buildings & Monuments Commission for England)
- English Sports Council
- Football Licensing Authority
The Football Licensing Authority is an independent public body set up under the Football Spectators Act 1989 and funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport....
- Geffrye Museum
The Geffrye Museum on Kingsland Road, London, England, is named after Sir Robert Geffrye, former Lord Mayor of London and Master of the Ironmongers' Company. The museum is a non-departmental public body. Admission to the museum is free....
- Historic Royal Palaces
Historic Royal Palaces is an independent charity created in 1998 to manage Britain's unoccupied royal palaces. These are:* The Tower of London* Hampton Court Palace* Kensington Palace - the state rooms only.* Banqueting House* Kew Palace...
- Horniman Museum
The Horniman Museum is a museum in Forest Hill, South London, England. Commissioned in 1898, it opened in 1901 and was designed by Charles Harrison Townsend in the Arts and Crafts style....
- Horserace Betting Levy Board
- Imperial War Museum
The Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
- Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester
The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester , located in Manchester, England, is a large museum devoted to the development of science, technology, and industry and particularly the city's considerable contributions to these. It is an Anchor Point of ERIH — The European Route of Industrial...
- Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council is a non-departmental public body in England and a registered charity with a remit to promote improvement and innovation in the area of museums, libraries and archives...
(MLA)
- National Gallery
The National Gallery in London, founded in 1824, houses a rich collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900 in its home on Trafalgar Square...
- National Heritage Memorial Fund
The National Heritage Memorial Fund is a non-departmental public body set up under the National Heritage Act 1980 in memory of people who gave their lives for the United Kingdom....
- the Trustees of the NHMF also administer the Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
- National Lottery Commission
The National Lottery Commission is the non-departmental public body set up on 1 April 1999 under the National Lottery Act 1998 to regulate the National Lottery...
- National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...
- National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside
- National Museum of Science and Industry
The National Museum of Science and Industry is a collection of British museums, comprising:* The National Railway Museum in York.* The Science Museum in London.* The National Media Museum in Bradford, West Yorkshire....
- National Portrait Gallery
- Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
- Olympic Delivery Authority
The Olympic Delivery Authority is the statutory corporation responsible for ensuring delivery of venues, infrastructure and legacy for the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in London...
- Olympic Lottery Distributor
The Olympic Lottery Distributor is a Non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom set up by Parliament to use money raised by the National Lottery to fund the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012....
- Registrar of Public Lending Right
A Public Lending Right program, is a program intended to either compensate authors for the potential loss of sales from their works being available in public libraries, or as a governmental support of the arts, through support of works available in public libraries, such as books, music and...
- Royal Armouries Museum
The Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom's National Museum of Arms and Armour. It is the United Kingdom's oldest museum, and one of the oldest museums in the world. It is also one of the largest collections of arms and armour in the world, comprising of the UK's National Collection of Arms and...
- Sir John Soane's Museum
- Sport England
Sport England is the brand name for the English Sports Council and is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport known as the DCM and S...
- Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
- UK Film Council
The UK Film Council was set up in 2000 by the Labour Government as a non-departmental public body to develop and promote the film industry in the UK. It is constituted as a private company limited by guarantee governed by a board of 15 directors and is funded through sources including the...
- UK Sport
UK Sport is the UK Government's organisation for directing the development of sport within the home countries. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport: disbursing Government funding and acting as the statutory distributor of National Lottery grants.It is...
- Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects. Named after Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, it was founded in 1852, and has since grown to now cover some and 145 galleries...
- Wallace Collection
The Wallace Collection is a museum in London, with a world-famous range of fine and decorative arts from the 15th to the 19th centuries with large holdings of French 18th-century paintings, furniture, arms & armour, porcelain and Old Master paintings arranged into 25 galleries.It was established in...
DCMS also has responsibility for two other bodies classified by the Office for National Statistics as being within the central government sector:
- The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games is a limited company, owned by the Government of the United Kingdom, that will oversee the planning and development of the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. After the successful London 2012 Olympic bid, LOCOG was...
is a company limited by guarantee, established by a joint venture agreement between the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, the Mayor of LondonThe Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London . Since 4 May 2008, Conservative Boris Johnson holds the position...
and the British Olympic AssociationThe British Olympic Association is responsible for the United Kingdom's participation in the Olympic Games. It was formed on 24 May 1905 at the House of Commons. The first chairman of the BOA was Lord Desborough...
.
- Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity founded in 1969 which looks after Church of England churches which are of architectural significance and are no longer used for regular worship...
DCMS is also the major financial sponsor of the following bodies, which are not classed as part of the UK central government
- Chatham Historic Dockyard
Chatham Historic Dockyard is a maritime museum on part of the site of the former royal/naval dockyard at Chatham in Kent, England. Chatham Dockyard covered 400 acres and was one of the Royal Navy's main facilities for several hundred years until it was closed in 1984.After closure the dockyard was...
Trust
- Greenwich Foundation for the Old Royal Naval College
- Tyne and Wear Museums
Tyne and Wear Museums is a regional group of United Kingdom national museums located across the Tyne and Wear area of north-east England.- Museums :...
Sponsorship of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (
NESTAThe National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts is an endowment in the United Kingdom established by an Act of Parliament in 1998 to help maximise the UK's creative and innovative potential...
) transferred to the
Department for Innovation, Universities and SkillsThe Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was a UK government department created on 28 June 2007 to take over some of the functions of the disbanded departments of Education and Skills and Trade and Industry, and merged in June 2009 in to the newly formed Department for Business,...
in June 2007. The
Museum of LondonThe Museum of London documents the history of London from the Prehistoric to the present day. The museum is located close to the Barbican Centre,as part of the striking Barbican complex of buildings created in the 1960's and 70's as an innovative approach to re-development within a bomb damaged...
transferred to the
Greater London AuthorityThe Greater London Authority is the city-wide governing body for London, England. It consists of a directly-elected executive Mayor of London, currently Boris Johnson, and an elected 25-member London Assembly with scrutiny powers.-Purpose:...
from 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.