Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the press release entitled Conclusion of His Majesty the King’s free portrait scheme, published on 28 November 2024, which local authorities did not request a portrait, excluding town and parish councils.

Public authorities throughout the United Kingdom were given an opportunity to apply for a free portrait of His Majesty The King if they wanted to display it in their building. This was a voluntary scheme to mark the accession of His Majesty The King. The announcement was originally made on 1 April 2023 and the scheme was launched in November that year and closed for applications in August 2024.

As it was a voluntary scheme, there was no obligation for public authorities to apply for a portrait. It would therefore be inappropriate to disclose the list of individual authorities and institutions which did not order a free portrait.