Mike Wood

Question 21037 concerned the appointment of Non-Executive Directors to the Independent Football Regulator. The Chair of the Independent Football Regulator has not recused himself from that appointments process.

The UK has a self-regulatory system for the press, which is independent from Government. An independent press is important for press freedom and to ensure the public has access to accurate and trustworthy information from a range of different sources.

We expect all publishers to operate within the bounds of the law and adhere to high ethical and professional standards, as well as ensure appropriate routes to redress if these standards are not met. However, the Government does not intervene in or evaluate the work of regulators, including the Independent Press Standards Organisation. Since the findings of the Leveson Report in 2012 there has been a substantial shift in the regulatory landscape, including the establishment of two regulators, IPSO and Impress, as well as the Press Recognition Panel, to ensure these high standards are met.

The application deadline for this campaign was extended to allow prospective candidates additional time to complete and submit applications over the Christmas and New Year period and to support the recruitment of a strong and diverse field of applicants.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (now DCMS) met the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) on 5 September 2024 to discuss how the online environment may have contributed to the post-Southport disorder.

The department also met CCDH on 23 February 2026, to discuss the monetisation of harmful content online.

DCMS continues to engage with a range of civil society organisations to support the development of online harms policy.

Special advisers supported Ministers in the usual way throughout this appointment process. All final decisions are taken by Ministers in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

This is a matter for the Home Office to consider. The Government keeps alcohol-related issues at football matches under review, however there are currently no plans to change the law.

Information about contracts awarded through public bodies can be found on the Government’s Contracts Finder and Find a Tender websites.

Information about The National Lottery Community Fund’s contract with Lexington Communications can be found on the Government’s Contracts Finder website: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/549bdfe5-947e-4876-b4b8-186acb5f2bc3

The Treaties section of the UK Parliament’s website lists international agreements which are subject to parliamentary scrutiny under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. An official record of the UK's treaty obligations under international law is also available via the UK Treaties Online resource.

No such representations have been made.

The Government has been clear that the Premier League’s charges against Manchester City are a process entirely independent of Government. It is essential that it is allowed to run its course and the outcome respected. Wherever wrongdoing is established, those responsible should face the appropriate consequences.

The Independent Football Regulator, who are fully independent from Government, have set out their own statement on the case and no have no further comment at this time.

No such representations have been made.

The Government has been clear that the Premier League’s charges against Manchester City are a process entirely independent of Government. It is essential that it is allowed to run its course and the outcome respected. Wherever wrongdoing is established, those responsible should face the appropriate consequences.

The Independent Football Regulator, who are fully independent from Government, have set out their own statement on the case and no have no further comment at this time.

Employees of the Gambling Commission are not Crown servants and therefore not subject to the business appointments applications process.

As required by the model contract for public bodies, the Gambling Commission has robust policies in place to manage business appointments and conflicts of interest, including clear obligations under their Employee Code of Conduct to ensure that the risk of conflicts of interest are considered at the earliest opportunity. The Commission is satisfied that appropriate mitigations are in place to manage and reduce the risk of any actual or perceived conflicts of interest in this case.

As an independent body accountable to Parliament, the Commission is not bound by the EDI civil service policy, but it does consider civil service policies to ensure it is working to best practice. The Commission's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team implements our EDI strategy, which informs the Commission's work to remove barriers to voter participation.

Yes. The Church Appointments (Repeal of Discriminatory Provision) Bill will remove a historic legal restriction on those who profess the Roman Catholic or Jewish faith from advising the Crown on appointments in the established churches of England and Scotland. This minor change ensures equal treatment of future office holders, regardless of their faith tradition, or lack of faith

In practical terms the arrangements governing Crown appointments in the Church of England, which have been in place since they were agreed between the Church and Government in 2007, are unaffected by this Bill. The appointments process is led by the Church, with the relevant Church body identifying the candidate to fill a vacant post. The Prime Minister’s role in advising the Sovereign on Church appointments is a constitutional duty and does not involve the Prime Minister exercising a personal choice. The Bill will not change these processes or alter the constitutional relationship between Church and State. Nor will it affect the requirement that the Sovereign join in communion with the Church of England.

The Prime Minister announced the closure of the digital ID programme in July 2026. The costs for the programme have not yet been finalised and will be published through the usual processes.

Special adviser attendance in the office varies. Advisers attend the office at least 4 days a week, and sometimes 5 if needed, if not on official visits with their Minister.

The £1.8 billion over three years was a provisional forecast published by the OBR. The OBR is an independent body and is best placed to provide details on the methodology it uses when producing forecasts.

As this was a provisional forecast it was not acknowledged by the Cabinet Office as an accurate cost estimate for implementing the national Digital ID programme.

Any costs incurred across government as part of the Digital ID programme will be reported through the usual, departmental accounts processes.

As the Digital ID programme has now been cancelled, the Advisory Group has no further meetings planned and is accordingly disbanded. We are grateful to the group’s members for the expertise, insight and constructive challenge they provided to the programme.

The National Audit Office (NAO)’s workplace attendance requirement is for all staff to routinely spend a minimum of two days a week working in either NAO offices or those of a body audited by the NAO. The NAO does not differentiate by different types of workers.

The National Audit Office (NAO) provides coaching to senior leaders to support effective leadership and organisational performance. Most coaching is delivered through internal provision. This contract is in place to provide additional specialist support should it be required. The contract runs from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 and has a maximum value of £24,000. This represents the upper limit of potential expenditure, not expected spending. The NAO does not currently have any staff receiving coaching under this contract.

The National Audit Office (NAO) does not report the daily average number of employees attending the workplace but does report data on compliance with the requirement that all staff routinely spend a minimum of two days a week working in either NAO offices or those of a body audited by the NAO. In the months from April to June 2026, compliance with the policy ranged from 75% to 83% of NAO employees (the range was between 74% and 83% for employees based in the NAO’s London office; and between 81% and 87% for employees based in its Newcastle office). As of 1 September 2026, the NAO has 974 NAO employees based in its London office and 195 based in its Newcastle office.

The National Audit Office (NAO) is independent of government and was not a recipient of the letter from the Government Chief Commercial Officer.

However, between 24 April 2025 and 31 August 2026, the NAO spent £3,555 (including VAT) on branded goods and merchandise such as pens, tote bags and notepads to be used over a full year. Branded merchandise is used on conference stands at a range of outreach events.

As an independent public body, the National Audit Office (NAO) is not part of the Government Communications profession. The NAO currently has a permanent headcount of 15 communications professionals working on external and internal communications.

The Information Commissioner's Office submitted a Spending Review bid as part of the Government's Spending Review process. The Government considers bids from a range of its arms length bodies. Final funding allocations have been determined through the Spending Review process and details of settlements are announced through the usual government channels. The Government does not routinely publish details of individual funding bids submitted as part of Spending Review discussions.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is independent of Government and is responsible for deciding how Freedom of Information Act complaints are prioritised, investigated and resolved. Whilst DCMS sponsors the ICO, government policy for Freedom of Information sits with the Cabinet Office.

The Department does not hold the operational information requested. The ICO publishes information about its performance and case-handling activity on its website and reports annually to Parliament on its approach to complaints and investigations.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is independent of Government and is responsible for deciding how Freedom of Information Act complaints are prioritised, investigated and resolved. Whilst DCMS sponsors the ICO, government policy for Freedom of Information sits with the Cabinet Office.

The Department does not hold the operational information requested. The ICO publishes information about its performance and case-handling activity on its website and reports annually to Parliament on its approach to complaints and investigations.

Artworks installed and de-installed in government buildings are routinely published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-art-collection-gac-artworks-installed-and-deinstalled-from-government-buildings

Staff on the Digital ID programme were existing Civil Service staff who, in line with standard Civil Service practice, are currently being redeployed to other government priorities.

A full business case had not yet been finalised prior to the cancellation of the national Digital ID programme. As such, a full estimate of planned expenditure for 2025-26 onwards is not available.

The Civil Service business appointment rules do not apply to Gambling Commission employees. The Gambling Commission's employee Code of Conduct and employment contracts provide the Commission with the ability to manage conflicts of interest. We have no plans to review the number of staff leaving the Gambling Commission to work in the gambling industry, or the length of appropriate restricted periods for conflicts of interest. The Gambling Commission regularly reviews employee turnover, and should any trends be identified, they have confirmed these will be reviewed as necessary. The Commission’s Corporate Governance Framework requires former employees to maintain safeguards against conflicts of interest for six months after their departure.

Given the specific nature of job titles and ability to individually identify employees, these titles have not been provided.

The Civil Service business appointment rules do not apply to Gambling Commission employees. The Gambling Commission's employee Code of Conduct and employment contracts provide the Commission with the ability to manage conflicts of interest. We have no plans to review the number of staff leaving the Gambling Commission to work in the gambling industry, or the length of appropriate restricted periods for conflicts of interest. The Gambling Commission regularly reviews employee turnover, and should any trends be identified, they have confirmed these will be reviewed as necessary. The Commission’s Corporate Governance Framework requires former employees to maintain safeguards against conflicts of interest for six months after their departure.

Given the specific nature of job titles and ability to individually identify employees, these titles have not been provided.

The Civil Service business appointment rules do not apply to Gambling Commission employees. The Gambling Commission's employee Code of Conduct and employment contracts provide the Commission with the ability to manage conflicts of interest. We have no plans to review the number of staff leaving the Gambling Commission to work in the gambling industry, or the length of appropriate restricted periods for conflicts of interest. The Gambling Commission regularly reviews employee turnover, and should any trends be identified, they have confirmed these will be reviewed as necessary. The Commission’s Corporate Governance Framework requires former employees to maintain safeguards against conflicts of interest for six months after their departure.

Given the specific nature of job titles and ability to individually identify employees, these titles have not been provided.

While DCMS Ministers are accountable to Parliament for matters concerning the National Gallery, the Gallery remains operationally independent from the Government, with all decisions about building management and flag flying taken by its trustees. As set out in response to Question 18835. I would therefore continue to refer the Member to the National Gallery.

From February 2026, the power to appoint new trustees and a Board Chair was vested in the trustees of the Southbank Centre, having previously been a power reserved for the Secretary of State for the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). This change to the charity's governing document was made with the Secretary of State's consent. This change is set out in the Southbank Centre's Annual Report and Accounts for 2025-26, which were laid in Parliament on 15th July 2026.

This now means the Southbank Centre operates in line with other independent arts organisations. As a charity, all Southbank Centre trustees are subject to charity law, and as an Arts Council-funded organisation, the Southbank Centre must adhere to the expectations on appointments set out by the Arts Council.

The Southbank Centre does not currently receive funds directly from the Department, but is supported as a National Portfolio Organisation by Arts Council England. Standard Terms and Conditions for National Portfolio organisations, along with Arts Council's "Relationship Framework" which sets out how Arts Council works with funded organisations and its expectations of them.

These are available at the following weblink: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/NationalPortfolio23/key-information-2023-26-npos-and-ipsos#t-in-page-nav-1

Details of Government contracts above £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

Order Schedule 20 of the awarded contract (Procurement reference CCZZ25A11) provides the requested information.

The Council of Europe funding is directed at projects that take place in some of Europe's most challenging environments for LGBT+ individuals, and although specific details are withheld from the public domain, these funds have not directly funded projects in the UK.

Case law has established that gender-critical beliefs are protected under the Equality Act 2010.

We have consistently said that we expect all duty bearers to comply with the law as clarified by the For Women Scotland Supreme Court ruling.

Under the legislation, these appointments are made by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The No10 Appointments Unit was consulted in the usual way.

The decision to redact the names of staff Members in the Register of Interests of Members’ Staff is a matter for the Committee on Standards. The decision is set out in the Committee’s Seventh Report of Session 2024–26 (HC 1629).

Ministers and officials from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport regularly engage with stakeholders on a range of policy matters. Details of ministerial meetings are published on a quarterly basis on Gov.uk.

DCMS also engages with a range of civil society organisations in developing online harms policy, including where it relates to public safety. As part of this, the Centre for Countering Digital Hate has participated in official-level roundtables with the department in 2024 and 2026.

The department has not received representations from Amnesty International on either regulation of the press or legislative action to impose limitations but is aware of the published statement from its networks.

The final report of the super-complaint on the police response to stalking made nine recommendations to Government. In our response of 22 November 2024, the Government accepted or partially accepted all nine and we have since been working in collaboration with policing and the specialist stalking sector to deliver them.

Six out of nine recommendations are now complete. We have:

• Commissioned Richard Wright KC to conduct the independent review of stalking legislation, which concluded in March 2026;
• Brought forward legislation in the Crime and Policing Act 2026, which received Royal Assent in April 2026, to introduce a power to issue multi-agency statutory guidance on stalking and allow the courts to directly issue Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) on conviction to acquittal. Both will be commenced shortly;
• Published disaggregated police recorded crime data on stalking from April 2025;
• Published national standards for stalking perpetrator interventions in July 2026; and
• Updated information in March 2025 on stalking in the Home Office crime recording rules to align with how stalking is described in the SPO statutory guidance.

We will continue to work closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to support implementation of the stalking super-complaint recommendations across forces. All police forces have published action plans and provided progress updates.

DCMS has no plans to make changes to the 4th National Lottery Licence.

In line with the approach taken for preparing for previous licences, planning for future operations will be considered at an appropriate time, in accordance with public procurement policy and best practice.

The UK Soft Power Council has met five times in plenary since its launch. Information on the Council's membership and its full meetings is published on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-soft-power-council-membership-and-terms-of-reference

Over the past three financial years, Office for Equality and Opportunity headcount has been as follows:

• April 2024: 127 FTE
• April 2025: 141 FTE
• April 2026: 167 FTE

This staffing will ensure delivery of manifesto commitments such as parts of employment rights legislation, pay gap reporting consultations, updating the Code of Practice and the Conversion Practices Bill, alongside delivery of other ministerial priorities.

As the UK’s technical authority for cyber security, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is the lead public body responsible for providing cyber security advice and support to industry on such matters.

Ofcom, as the telecoms regulator, is responsible for monitoring and enforcing public telecoms providers’ compliance with their legal obligations under the Communications Act 2003, as amended by the Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021.

DCMS, as the lead government department for telecoms, is responsible for developing policies, including legislation, to help ensure the security and resilience of the UK’s public telecoms networks and services.