John Cooper

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport does not hold records on office attendance for its public bodies, including Ofcom.

There are currently 9 Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport staff assigned to Feethams House, with a further 36 in the process of transferring into DCMS as a result of the recent Machinery of Government change. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has an attendance requirement of 60%. This is applied across all of the Department’s offices regardless of location.

We do not hold the information to enable us to answer the average percentage attendance rate of assigned DCMS staff at Bloc 17 Marble Street in Manchester. In the most recent working week for which figures are available, there were on average 96 staff visits per day from a total assigned workforce of 320 colleagues based in Manchester.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport does not hold records on office attendance for its public bodies, including Historic England.

Neither the former Department for Science Innovation and Technology nor the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport monitor staff attendance at a directorate level. This means we do not average attendance figures for Building Digital UK staff at Trinity Bridge House or any other location.

Public relations activity is a subset of communication spend. As such, this data is not held. The Government Communication Service encourages the prioritisation of low and no cost public relations activities wherever possible.

It is recommended that all external communications support should be procured through approved government frameworks, with strict controls in place to ensure cost-effectiveness.

In February, the Government announced new rules requiring all government departments and their executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies to set three-year targets for direct spend with SMEs from 1 April 2025, and from 1 April 2026 for Voluntary Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs), and publish progress annually.

Our intention is for all targets for spend with SMEs and the annual publication of spend with SMEs to be published on the Central Digital Platform for ease of comparison. This will drive greater transparency and accountability for increasing numbers of SMEs and VCSEs delivering public contracts.

As part of the GPA’s Government Workplace Design Guide and Inclusive Design Standards, we are committed to improving the standard of inclusive and accessible signage across our estate including the quality and availability of braille and tactile symbols. Our Inclusive Design Standards state signs should be clear, use simple and concise text, and include raised text, braille, and raised pictograms when appropriate.

This was an acquisition of Harbour Energy shares by BASF and LetterOne, with LetterOne receiving a class of non-voting shares which does not give it the ability to influence Harbour Energy. On 30 July 2024, following a detailed national security assessment, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster imposed a necessary and proportionate Final Order under the National Security and Investment Act on the acquisition of a 46.5% shareholding of Harbour Energy plc by BASF Handels-Und Export GmbH. The Final Order and the conditions imposed within it enable the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to consider further the exercise of his powers under the Act should a share conversion lead to: LetterOne owning 10% or more ordinary shares in Harbour Energy; and/or the appointment of a Harbour Energy plc board member by LetterOne. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has a statutory duty to keep all Final Orders under review and will exercise this power if and when necessary.

The department does not collect data in a way that enables us to determine the percentage of assigned staff attending Piccadilly Place, Manchester. The office attendance expectation is that employees attend a departmental office, or undertake qualifying off-site work, for 60% of their working time (Senior Civil Servants) and 40% (delegated grades), subject to any agreed workplace adjustments or flexible working arrangements.

The department does not collect data in a way that enables us to determine the percentage of assigned staff attending Piccadilly Gate, Manchester. The office attendance expectation is that employees attend a departmental office, or undertake qualifying off-site work, for 60% of their working time (Senior Civil Servants) and 40% (delegated grades), subject to any agreed workplace adjustments or flexible working arrangements.

As of September 2026, there are 238 former Department for Business and Trade staff based at Feethams House, Darlington. The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade does not currently have confirmation of the number of former Department for Science, Innovation and Technology staff who are based in Darlington and have joined the newly formed department.

The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has 21 staff assigned to work at the Darlington Economic Campus.

Expected office attendance for staff based in both offices varies by grade, ranging between 40-60%.

The department does not collect data in a way that enables us to determine the percentage of assigned staff attending Trinity Bridge House, Salford. The office attendance expectation is that employees attend a departmental office, or undertake qualifying off-site work, for 60% of their working time (Senior Civil Servants) and 40% (delegated grades), subject to any agreed workplace adjustments or flexible working arrangements.

The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) produces office attendance figures monthly rather than by individual working week. For the most recent month for which figures are available, August 2026, office attendance for CMA staff assigned to 1 New Bailey Street, Salford, was 41%, based on total office days attended as a proportion of total available working days.

The Department does not hold information on the workplace attendance of employees of Salix Finance Ltd. While sponsored by the Department, Salix is an operationally independent non-departmental public body and is responsible for its own workforce management and any associated attendance records. The Department therefore cannot provide the average percentage attendance rate of Salix staff assigned to 3 Piccadilly Place, Manchester in the period requested.

We do not receive attendance/pass swipe data in Trinity Bridge House.

The Government is taking steps to strengthen the resilience and diversity of supply chains for clean energy technologies; including through measures to increase UK domestic capability to unlock the economic potential of the UK's energy transition.

The UK's Industrial Strategy is about doubling down on our strengths by identifying frontier clean energy industries where we have the greatest growth potential, and provides a policy package that drives supply chain growth up and down the country - including the announcement of a £1bn Great British Energy supply chain fund and investment from the £27.8bn National Wealth Fund.

Internationally the Government is working with partners, including through initiatives such as the Global Clean Power Alliance, to promote more secure, sustainable and diverse global clean energy supply chains.

The Government continues to welcome international investment, including in the clean energy sector, where it supports growth and jobs, at the same time it will always act to protect national security and ensure the resilience of critical energy infrastructure and supply chains.

The Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero currently has 34 individuals in the redeployment register.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has nil spend on external public relations since 5 July 2024. DESNZ conducts all public relations in house and does not use any external providers/firms.

The Department’s Arm’s Length Bodies record and publish their own spend data on public relations. This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The Department acknowledges the British Council Scotland and Universities Scotland report, which presents the globally competitive strength of Scotland’s higher education system and its importance in tackling shared global challenges. The Department supports international research collaboration through UK wide activity, including the promotion of universities and the wider research and innovation sector through the UK’s Science & Technology Network, through access to funding support such as Horizon Europe, the International Science Partnerships Fund and our core support to UK research institutions, and through bilateral and multilateral science and technology cooperation. These measures support research excellence and knowledge exchange across the UK, including in Scotland.

The government consulted on several topics relating to the interaction between copyright and artificial intelligence (AI). We have carefully analysed the responses and continue to engage extensively on this issue, including through technical working groups.

The government published a progress update on 16 December 2025 and will publish a report on the use of copyright works in the development of AI systems, and economic impact assessment, by 18 March 2026.

At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a day-to-day basis.

Public relations activity is a subset of communication spend. As such, this data is not held. The Government Communication Service encourages the prioritisation of low and no cost public relations activities wherever possible.

It is recommended that all external communications support should be procured through approved government frameworks, with strict controls in place to ensure cost-effectiveness.

The Department has spent no money on (a) media or (b) voice training for Ministers since 5 July 2024.

The Charter Review was officially launched on 16 December with the publication of the Terms of Reference and Green Paper. The Charter Review is looking at a range of issues to make sure the BBC truly represents and delivers for every person in this country.

The Government ran a public consultation which asked people and organisations, including commercial media stakeholders, to be part of the conversation on the future of the BBC. We are also engaging extensively with a range of stakeholders (including commercial media) and experts on an ongoing basis, and undertaking additional research to help ensure we hear a broad range of voices and views on the BBC. This includes through a Ministerial lead roundtable with industry stakeholders in January 2026.

The Government is now considering responses to the public consultation, and will set out policy decisions for the next BBC Royal Charter in a White Paper, expected to be published later this year.

The Culture Secretary has set out that while the structures and the funding for the BBC will continue to be negotiated every several years, she will seek to end the bizarre situation where if the Charter isn’t agreed in time, the BBC ceases to exist.

More broadly Charter Review is looking at a range of options to ensure the BBC is accountable to the public it serves, and in the Green Paper we made clear our view that we think that it is necessary for there to be regular reviews of the BBC as an organisation. As part of the Charter Review process, we are continuing to look at the responses to the public consultation and we will set out policy decisions in a White Paper, expected to be published later this year.

The Government is committed to ensuring a healthy and plural local media for the benefit of communities and citizens across the UK. We have launched a Local Media Action Plan to help local newsrooms across the country innovate and adapt their business models for the online world, while incentivising and encouraging the production of high quality, trustworthy news.

Local media already has a strong propensity to innovate and many local publishers are shifting towards digital subscription models in an effort to secure their financial sustainability. This is an understandable response to the financial pressures faced by the industry and a reflection of the significant costs involved in provision of high quality journalism.

The purpose of the subscriptions regime set out in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act is to protect consumers from being trapped in unwanted subscriptions. Government has consulted on how the regime will be implemented, and I have engaged alongside the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection with representatives from the news media sector and other DCMS stakeholders on this consultation. More broadly, DCMS continues to work closely with the Department for Business and Trade to reflect on the issues raised during the consultation and a Government Response will be published in due course.

At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or who, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a regular basis.

In DCMS, there are currently no permanent civil servants in DCMS without assigned posts, and five members of staff on the department’s redeployment register.

Public relations activity is a subset of communication spend. As such, this data is not held. The Government Communication Service encourages the prioritisation of low and no cost public relations activities wherever possible. It is recommended that all external communications support should be procured through approved government frameworks, with strict controls in place to ensure cost-effectiveness.