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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to publish her Department’s expenditure over £500 using electronic purchasing cards for the financial year 2021-22.

The Department uses electronic purchasing cards to reduce the administration costs of low value transactions and improve the efficiency of purchasing. The Department applies the following limitations to the use of electronic purchasing cards: maximum transaction value of £1,000 and a maximum spend of £5,000 per month, per card. As of 30 June 2022, the Department has 22 cards in use.

Electronic purchasing cards are contracted through Crown Commercial Services Framework, Payment Solutions (RM3828) and are provided by Natwest.

Government policy requires all Government Departments to publish transactions over £500, through electronic purchasing cards, on a monthly basis. The Department has historically not published the required data and is working with Finance colleagues to improve the transparency of financial data. DCMS Commercial recognises the issue of non-compliance and is prioritising the publication of the required data by the end of July and will publish transactions on a monthly basis thereafter, in line with transparency policy.