Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on how many occasions the provision of mandatory training for her Departmental staff regarding their obligations under the Equality Act 2010 has been cited by her Department as a defence against Section 109 proceedings since the commencement of that Act.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
We have reviewed DCMS cases in the last five years and none have used the defence available in s.109 and therefore cited mandatory training.
DCMS does not hold information regarding cases beyond 5 years due to our data retention policies linked to GDPR.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many payments were fraudulently charged to her Department’s budget using electronic purchasing cards in the financial years (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21, and (c) 2021-22; and what was the total value of fraudulent payments (i) made and (ii) recovered in each of those years.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
In the financial year 2019-20, four payments were fraudulently charged to the Department using electronic purchasing cards totalling £4000.
The Department obtained refunds from the bank and recovered all four fraudulent payments in the same financial year totalling £4000.
The Department had no fraudulent payments charged to the Department’s budget using electronic purchasing cards in the financial years 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2022 to Question 13078, if she will publish the (a) names, (b) positions and (c) nationalities of the 12 international delegates who visited Scotland in August; and what conclusions were reached in consultation with that delegation regarding the potential of Unboxed projects to tour overseas.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK delivered two five-day international delegations in partnership with the British Council. The names, positions and nationalities of the delegates can be found here.
The delegations were devised to facilitate knowledge exchange and to share practice regarding interdisciplinary collaboration, community engagement and creative production. Commercial touring opportunities are now being explored in several countries.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
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 data for spending over £500 using an electronic purchasing card during the financial years 2018-19 to 2020-21.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Department aims to publish details of transactions over £500, using electronic purchasing cards, for financial years 2018-19 to 2020-21 by October 2022.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the total cost to the public purse, inclusive of VAT, was for media buying services provided under the Crown Commercial Service's media buying framework agreement reference RM6003, incurred by (a) the British Tourist Authority, (b) Visit Britain and (c) Visit England, between May 2018 and May 2022.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The total spend including VAT, via the Crown Commercial Service’s media buying framework reference RM6003, between May 2018 and May 2022 (inclusive) was £35,837,403 for the British Tourist Authority (BTA). For VisitBritain it was £23,819,556 and for VisitEngland it was £12,017,847.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many people held electronic purchasing cards that allowed them to make purchases against her Department's budget as of 31 March 2022.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
As of 31 March 2022, 23 Civil Servants held electronic purchasing cards, allowing them to make purchases against the Department’s budget, subject to internal policy and approval.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
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.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
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.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the maximum value, inclusive of VAT, is of the contract that her Department has agreed with Manning Gottlieb OMD for the provision of strategic media activation services under the terms of the Crown Commercial Service's media services framework agreement reference RM6123.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Media Services (RM6123) framework agreement includes the provision of strategic media activation services (LOT 1) and was put in place following a competitive tender in December 2021. Customers can use this framework agreement by putting in place a call off. Manning Gottlieb OMD is the supplier for strategic media activation services (LOT 1).
The framework commenced on 14 December 2021 and is due to end on 13 December 2025.
The maximum contract value of the Department’s Call-Off Contract with Manning Gottlieb OMD, under Crown Commercial Services Media Services Framework (RM6123), is £9,600,000 (including VAT). This is a maximum value and there is no commitment to spend.