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Written Question
Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Legal Costs
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the total cost to the public purse was of legal (a) support and (b) representation to Ministers in (i) her Department and (ii) the predecessor Department in relation to their official conduct in each of the last three years.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Such information is not centrally recorded or collated in the form requested. More generally, I would refer the hon. Member to the long-standing policies on legal expenditure, as set out recently by Cabinet Office Ministers on 12 March 2024, Official Report, PQ 17709 and 12 March 2024, Official Report, House of Lords, Cols.1901-1904.


Written Question
Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Domestic Visits
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, to which domestic destinations Ministers in her Department and its predecessor Departments have attended overnight visits in each of the last three financial years.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

I refer the Hon. Member to my response to UIN 17516, on the 12th March 2024.


Written Question
Department for Culture, Media and Sport: WhatsApp
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance her Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

All departments in central government, including arms lengths bodies apply the published guidance: Using non-corporate communication channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS) for government business published by Cabinet Office in March 2023. It applies to all individuals in central government (ministers, special advisers, officials, contractors, non-executive board members and independent experts advising ministers). DCMS uses the central guidance and has applied it since March 2023.


Written Question
Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Domestic Visits
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many domestic overnight visits were undertaken by Ministers in (a) her Department and (b) its predecessor Department in each of the last three financial years; and what the cost of those visits was.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government publishes on GOV.UK details of the cost of overseas Ministerial travel, including costs of travel, and on other costs (vias, accommodation, meals).

But as has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular detail on Ministers’ travel at home or abroad.


Written Question
Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Fraud and Maladministration
Monday 11th March 2024

Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the amount of money lost to fraud and error by her Department and predecessor Department in each of the last three financial years.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is proud of its record in proactively seeking to find and prevent more fraud in the system. We have established the dedicated Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA). In its first year it delivered £311 million in audited counter fraud benefits.

The PSFA produces a Fraud Landscape Report (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cross-government-fraud-landsca pe-annual-report-2022.) This provides data on fraud and error detection, loss and recoveries in central government, outside of the tax and welfare system. The 2020/21 Report was published in March 2023.

DCMS does not annually estimate the level of fraud and error across all its expenditure, instead focusing assurance and measurement activity on higher risk and higher value areas.


Written Question
Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Publishing
Monday 11th March 2024

Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what reports and guidance her Department and its predecessor Department has produced in the last three years; and how much was spent on their (a) printing and (b) distribution.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department. Reports and guidance that the Department has published can be found on gov.uk.


Written Question
Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Advertising
Wednesday 6th March 2024

Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding (a) her Department and (b) its predecessor Department has (i) budgeted for and (ii) spent on advertising in each of the last three financial years.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The department spent the following in each of the last three financial years:

Financial year 2020/21

Financial year 2021/22

Financial year 2022/23

Actual spend

£259,634.17

£666,395.66

£253,813.31

We are unable to provide budget figures as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not budget in-year at such a granular level.


Written Question
Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Vacancies
Monday 4th March 2024

Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of digital posts in her Department were vacant on 26 February 2024.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

How many roles were vacant: 10.

What proportion of all digital posts were vacant: 17%.


Written Question
Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Press
Monday 4th March 2024

Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what subscriptions to (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) online journals her Department and its predecessor Department has paid for in each of the last three financial years.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The department does not hold comprehensive information to the level of detail requested.


Written Question
Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Magazine Press
Monday 4th March 2024

Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding her Department and its predecessor Department (a) allocated for (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The department does not allocate specific funding for magazine subscriptions.

As stated in the response to Parliamentary Question 15861, the department does not hold comprehensive information to the level of detail requested.