Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the impact of increased homeworking during the covid-19 outbreak on her Department’s carbon footprint.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DCMS monitors and reports on its greenhouse gas emissions - information on this is published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to measure its carbon footprint.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
All Departments are required to measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions quarterly as part of the Greening Government Commitments. Departmental emissions, and their progress against emissions reductions targets, are published annually in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Reports.
Departments may also publish their greenhouse gas emissions data as part of their own Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has published a plan setting out the steps it plans to take to transition to net zero emissions.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DCMS is committed to reducing emissions and energy consumption wherever possible, as part of the UK’s transition to net zero. The Department’s current targets to make progress on reducing emissions have been published, as part of the Greening Government Commitments.
The Government published the Net Zero Strategy in October 2021, which sets out policies and proposals for decarbonising all sectors of the UK economy to meet our net zero target by 2050.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has implemented a training programme to provide civil servants with skills to support its transition to net zero.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DCMS is committed to the 2050 net zero target and is developing a capability training programme for our staff that will ensure we have the skills required to support the transition.
As part of this we are in contact with the Government Skills and Curriculum Unit (GSCU) who are developing a cross Whitehall training programme focused on climate capability. The new Government Curriculum will include modules on the implications of Net Zero, climate change and wider environmental issues for the government.
We expect the first phase of this training to be piloted from April 2022 followed by a second phase where the GSCU will look at tailored provision for specific functions and professions, and will signpost the training and other resources on Net Zero which are already being provided internally at practitioner and expert levels by government Departments.
We will ensure that any staff requiring these skills at DCMS are enrolled on this training.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether a senior manager in her Department has been given the portfolio for leading on departmental sustainability.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to making its estate and operations more sustainable and resilient, through the Greening Government Commitments. We report on these commitments every quarter. In DCMS, the Director General for Strategy and Operations is responsible for this work.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much her Department has spent on producing social media videos and graphics for use on Ministerial social media accounts since January 2020.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We are now in a digital age, where social media and digital communications are an essential part of government, helping inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests.
In addition to the Civil Service Code, the Government Communications Service offers propriety in digital and social media guidance and is available to discuss questions relating to social media when working with ministers.
DCMS employs an in-house social media team to use digital channels and create content to communicate departmental policies online. It is often appropriate for content relating to Government policies, guidance and announcements, created by civil servants, to be amplified or posted on other channels including ministers' own social media accounts where this helps drive wider engagement from the public.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many staff in her Department are managing Ministerial social media accounts as either (a) their primary responsibility or (b) as part of their role.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We are now in a digital age, where social media and digital communications are an essential part of government, helping inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests.
In addition to the Civil Service Code, the Government Communications Service offers propriety in digital and social media guidance and is available to discuss questions relating to social media when working with ministers.
DCMS employs an in-house social media team to use digital channels and create content to communicate departmental policies online. It is often appropriate for content relating to Government policies, guidance and announcements, created by civil servants, to be amplified or posted on other channels including ministers' own social media accounts where this helps drive wider engagement from the public.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the total floor area of her departmental estate was in each year from 2010-11 to 2020-21.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This is shown in the table below, taken from the State of the Estate Reports.
The 2020-21 figure is significantly higher as it includes museums. These were not included in previous years.
Year | DCMS sqm (NIA - net internal area) |
2010 | 92,605 |
2011 | 86,224 |
2012 | 75,391 |
2013 | 69,928 |
2014-2015 | 124,031 |
2015-2016 | 124,384 |
2016-2017 | 126,090 |
2017-2018 | 122,871 |
2018-2019 | 122,305 |
2019-2020 | 120,364 |
2020-2021 | 778,348 |