DCMS: Single Departmental Plan - 2019
Updated 27 June 2019
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Our single departmental plan sets out our objectives and how we will achieve them.
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
The Rt Hon Oliver Dowden CBE MP
Permanent Secretary
Our department operates at the heart of government on some of the UK’s biggest economic and social issues. Our mission is to drive growth, enrich lives and promote the UK to the world. We champion innovation and creativity. From the Arts to Artificial Intelligence, a quarter of UK businesses are in our sectors, and are among the fastest growing of our economy. Emerging technology is opening up new possibilities for human endeavour and self-expression. But we need to harness it, create new norms for the online world and build a strong civil society so that the benefits are shared by all. Our actions over more than 25 years of DCMS have become woven into the fabric of our nation. Today we continue to shape the world we want to live in – building a future fit for everyone.
Our objectives
- Global: Drive international trade, attract investment and promote shared values around the world – promoting the UK as a great place to live, work and visit
- Growth: Grow an economy that is creative, innovative and works for everyone
- Digital Connectivity: Drive the UK’s connectivity, telecommunications and digital sectors
- Participation: Maximise social action, cultural, sporting and physical activity participation
- Society: Make our society safe, fair and informed
- EU Exit: Help deliver a successful outcome to Brexit
- Agile & Efficient: Ensure DCMS is fit for the future with the right skills, culture and connections to realise our vision and live our values as “One DCMS”
1. Global
Lead minister[s]
Caroline Dinenage, Minister of State for Digital and Culture
The Rt Hon John Whittingdale OBE, Minister of State for Media and Data
Matt Warman, Minister for Digital Infrastructure
Nigel Huddleston, Minister for Sport, Tourism and Heritage
Baroness Barran MBE, Minister for Civil Society
Lead officials
Helen Judge, Director General, Performance and Strategy
1.1 Drive international trade, attract investment and promote shared values around the world – promoting the UK as a great place to live, work and visit
How we will achieve this
| Support growth and security through international partnerships in digital, tech, cultural and creative industries (contributes to SDG 9) |
| Promote a free and open internet and defend UK interests in international discussions and negotiations (contributes to SDG 9) |
| Market the UK globally to promote jobs and growth by strengthening cultural exports (contributes to SDG 8) |
| Work with the tourism sector to increase both domestic and international visitor numbers (contributes to SDG 12) |
| Use the Government Art Collection to promote the creativity of British art by creating displays in ministerial offices and diplomatic buildings across the world |
| Successfully deliver elite sporting success, including hosting major sporting events, to promote the UK on the international stage (contributes to SDG 11) |
| Work towards delivering a safe and successful Commonwealth Games 2022 (contributes to SDG 11) |
Our performance
Visits to the UK
| Year | Overseas residents’ visits |
|---|---|
| 2016 (January - December 2016) | 36,600,000 |
| 2017 (January - December 2017) | 39,240,000 |
| 2018 (November 2017- October 2018) | 37,840,000 |
Seasonally adjusted estimates of completed international visits to and from the UK by overseas residents.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Overseas travel and tourism, monthly; Release schedule: monthly
Visitor spend in the UK
| Year | Overseas Visitor Spend in UK (£m) |
|---|---|
| 2016 | £22,543 |
| 2017 | £24,507 |
Overseas visitor spend increased by 9% compared with 2016.
| Year | Overseas visitor spend outside London (£m, excl. NI) |
|---|---|
| 2016 | £10,111 |
| 2017 | £10,458 |
Overseas visitor spend increased by 3% outside of London in 2017.
| Year | Overseas visitor spend inside London (£m) |
|---|---|
| 2016 | £11,869 |
| 2017 | £13,547 |
Overseas visitor spend increased by 14% inside London in 2017.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Travel Trends; Release schedule: annually
Soft Power 30 Index 1st 2018
The Soft Power 30 Index by Portland is a global ranking of soft power used as a benchmark by governments around the world. Source: Portland, The Soft Power 30; Release schedule: annually
2. Growth
Lead ministers
Margot James, Minister of State for Digital and the Creative Industries
Mims Davies, Parliamentary under Secretary of State for Sport and Civil Society
Lead Officials
Helen Judge, Director General, Performance and Strategy
Yasmin Brooks, Temporary Director General, Digital and Media
2.1 Grow an economy that is creative, innovative and works for everyone
How we will achieve this
| Drive the adoption of AI technologies across the economy for the betterment of society. Continue implementing the AI Sector Deal (contributes to SDG 8) |
| Increase economic growth by encouraging innovation, addressing current and future cyber threats and establishing the conditions needed for a sustainable industry funded model (contributes to SDG 8) |
| Strengthen the data economy and maximise the benefits from government’s own data by implementing the priorities set out in the Digital Strategy (Contributes to SDG 8) |
| Promote the functioning of efficient telecoms markets and high levels of consumer protection by generating consumer trust and providing transparency (Contributes to SDG 9) |
| Support the economic success of the creative industries by assessing challenges around skills, access to finance, place and intellectual property, and talent requirements to support growth across all sectors (contributes to SDG 8) |
| Develop and implement measures to mitigate against abuses in the ticketing market (contributes to SDG 8) |
| Support the best of our arts and culture in delivering positive social and economic outcomes through cohesive policies focused on building a resilient and sustainable sector, including the Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund, Culture Development Fund, and supporting Coventry as the UK City of Culture 2021 |
| Through the Digital Charter, we will develop policies and actions that will make the UK the safest and fairest place to be online, drive innovation and growth across the economy, and make the UK the best place to start and grow a digital business (contributes to SDG 8) |
| Ensure the ethical, safe and innovative use of data by through a governance regime that fully supports both ethical and innovative technologies (contributes to SDG 9) |
| Promote digital skills and inclusion by continuing to tackle the root causes of digital exclusion and increasing digital capability (contributes to SDG 4) |
| Build an inclusive economy in partnership with business and the finance sectors by developing enterprising solutions to social challenges (contributes to SDG 9) |
Our performance
UK GVA contributions from DCMS sectors 14.6% of UK GVA
Source: DCMS Economic Estimates, DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates 2017 (provisional): Gross Value Added; Release schedule: annually
GVA contribution (£billions)
| Year | GVA to UK economy by DCMS Sectors (£billions in current prices) |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 258.9 |
| 2017 (provisional) | 267.7 |
GVA contribution by DCMS sector, (£billions)
| Sector | 2016 | 2017 (provisional) |
|---|---|---|
| Civil Society (Non-market charities) | 24.4 | 23.5 |
| Creative Industries | 94.8 | 101.5 |
| Cultural Sector | 27.5 | 29.5 |
| Digital Sector | 121.5 | 130.5 |
| Gambling | 10.1 | 9.3 |
| Sport | 9.3 | 9.8 |
| Telecoms | 31.4 | 32.6 |
| Tourism | 68.3 | 67.7 |
Overall, DCMS sectors have seen an average 3.4% rise from 2016.
Source: DCMS Economic Estimates, DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates 2017 (provisional): Gross Value Added; Release schedule: annually
Employment 5.4 million jobs
2017 saw a 2.3% increase in jobs in DCMS sectors since 2016, and a 15.0% increase since 2011.
Source: DCMS Economic Estimates, DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates 2017: Employment; Release schedule: annually
3. Digital Connectivity
Lead minister
Margot James, Minister of State for Digital and the Creative Industries
Lead official
Yasmin Brooks, Temporary Director General, Digital and Media
3.1 Drive the UK’s connectivity, telecommunications and digital sectors
How we will achieve this
| Deliver a world class broadband infrastructure by generating access to superfast broadband with speeds of more than 24 Mbps to as many premises as possible beyond 95% (contributes to SDG 9) |
| Stimulate delivery of Local Full Fibre Networks through the national programme to incentivise and accelerate commercial investment in full fibre broadband networks (contributes to SDG 9) |
| Deliver Rural Gigabit Connectivity across the UK. This will include introduction of changes to the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme that incentivise build in rural, hard-to-reach areas (contributes to SDG 9) |
| Make the UK a world-leader in 5G by accelerating the deployment of 5G networks, maximising the productivity/efficiency benefits to the UK (contributes to SDG 9) |
| Enhance the security and resilience of the telecoms sector to ensure safe and reliable telecoms services for the UK public, mitigate risks to national security – supply chain, infrastructure investment, submarine fibre optic cables, hostile states etc – and help drive investment in the UK (contributes to SDG 9) |
Our performance
Percentage of premises with access to superfast broadband (24mbps) 95.8%
| December of Year | Premises with access to superfast broadband (24mbps) |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 92.3% |
| 2017 | 94.6% |
| 2018 | 95.8% |
Source: Think Broadband, UK Superfast and Fibre Coverage; Release schedule: monthly
Percentage of UK premises with indoor mobile call coverage from all operators
| Year | % UK premises (indoors) with voice coverage from all Mobile Network Operators (MNO) |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 85.1% |
| 2017 | 90.0% |
| 2018 | 92.0% |
Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations and Infrastructure Reports; Release schedule: annually
Percentage of UK premises with full fibre broadband coverage
| Year | % premises full fibre broadband coverage |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 2% |
| 2017 | 3% |
| 2018 | 6% |
Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations and Infrastructure Reports; Release schedule: annually
Percentage of UK Geographic area covered by all operators for 4G services
| Year | % Outdoor geographic area covered by all operator’s 4G |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 21.0% |
| 2017 | 49.0% |
| 2018 | 66.0% |
Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations and Infrastructure Reports; Release schedule: annually
Percentage of UK indoor premises with 4G coverage from all operators
| Year | % Indoor geographic area covered by all operator’s 4G |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 40.0% |
| 2017 | 65.0% |
| 2018 | 77.0% |
Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations and Infrastructure Reports; Release schedule: annually
4. Participation
Lead ministers
Margot James, Minister of State for Digital and the Creative Industries
Rebecca Pow, Parliamentary under Secretary of State for Arts, Heritage and Tourism
Mims Davies, Parliamentary under Secretary of State for Sport and Civil Society
Lord Ashton of Hyde, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Lead official
Helen Judge, Director General, Performance and Strategy
4.1 Maximise social action, cultural, sporting and physical activity participation
How we will achieve this
| Build a sustainable future for libraries. In partnership with the Libraries Taskforce, Arts Council, and British Library we will promote how public libraries contribute to wider central and local government strategic priorities (contributes to SDG 4) |
| Support UK arts and culture, promote its role in delivering positive social outcomes through effective policy making and public investment (contributes to SDG 11) |
| Promote and protect the historic environment so that future generations can appreciate heritage assets. We will use the Heritage Statement to deliver cohesive policies focused on building a resilient and sustainable sector (contributes to SDG 16) |
| Make public appointments and empower DCMS Arms Length Bodies to be effective, resilient and innovative. We will lead the process for chair and trustee appointments to 42 Arms Length Bodies, 15 of which are made by the Prime Minister or HM The Queen. Work to ensure that public appointments made contribute to realising the ambition that by 2022, 50% of all public appointees are female and 14% of all public appointments made are from ethnic minorities (contributes to SDG 10) |
| Support people of all ages to thrive, connect with each other, and give back to their communities, including our commitment to using Office for National Statistics’ recommended measurement package as government’s standard way of measuring loneliness (contributes to SDG 10) |
| Support transition from Blythe House to alternative sites to preserve, protect, and improve public access to the national museum collections, while maximising the value of this Grade II listed building in West London (contributes to SDG 9) |
| Increase participation in arts and culture by extending the reach, innovation and resilience in the cultural sector through our delivery of the Culture is Digital report (contributes to SDG 8) |
| Increase access to the Government Art Collection including further extending public access to the Collection through a new website and public exhibition space (contributes to SDG 8) |
| Preserve museums/galleries/cultural property for the enjoyment and education of citizens by supporting as many visitors as possible to enjoy our national collections, especially through free entry to permanent collections (contributes to SDG 16) |
| Deliver the 2022 UK Festival (contributes to SDG 8) |
| Deliver ceremonials by providing the infrastructure support for Inward State Visits, the annual Remembrance Sunday Cenotaph Service, and the flying of flags on key national days, alongside planning and delivering certain aspects of State occasions |
| Increase participation in, engagement with and access to sport and physical activity (contributes to SDG 10) |
Our performance
Percentage of adults engaging in arts, heritage, libraries, museums, and galleries
| Percentage of adults (16+) in England | 2016-17 | 2017-18 |
|---|---|---|
| Engaged with the arts | 77.4 | 78.9 |
| Visited a heritage site | 74.2 | 72.8 |
| Visited a museum or gallery | 52.3 | 49.7 |
| Visited a public library | 34 | 32.7 |
Source: DCMS, Taking Part Survey; Release schedule: annually
Visitors to DCMS-sponsored museums and galleries
| Year (April to March) | Museum Visitors |
|---|---|
| 2016/17 | 47,312,770 |
| 2017/18 | 47,264,853 |
| 2018/19 (provisional) | 49,441,956 |
Source: DCMS, Monthly Museum visitor figures; Release schedule: monthly
Subjective Well Being
| Year (October - September) | Happiness (0-10 high) | Life worthwhile? (0-10 high) | Life satisfaction (0-10 high) | How anxious? (0-10 low) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016/17 | 7.52 | 7.87 | 7.69 | 2.92 |
| 2017/18 | 7.54 | 7.88 | 7.69 | 2.86 |
For happiness, life satisfaction and life worthwhile categories, 0 is negative and 10 is positive. For anxiety 0 is positive and 10 is negative.
Source: ONS, Personal Wellbeing Estimates; Release schedule: annually
Percentage of adults who are physically active
| Year | % Adults (16+) physically active |
|---|---|
| 2016/17 | 62.0% |
| 2017/18 | 62.3% |
Source: Sport England, Active Lives Adult Survey; Release schedule: annually
Awareness and support for First World War centenary activities
| Year | % Aware of activities | % in support of activities |
|---|---|---|
| 2016/17 | 53% | 74% |
| 2017/18 | 51% | 76.7% |
Source: DCMS, Taking Part Survey; Release schedule: annually
5. Society
Lead ministers
Margot James, Minister of State for Digital and the Creative Industries
Mims Davies, Parliamentary under Secretary of State for Sport and Civil Society
Lead officials
Helen Judge, Director General, Performance and Strategy
Yasmin Brooks, Temporary Director General, Digital and Media
5.1 Make our society safe, fair and informed
How we will achieve this
| Make the UK the safest place in the world to be online through measures to ensure citizens are safe when online, for instance implementing child protection systems and age verification for online pornography (contributes to SDG 8) |
| Use policy levers to reduce digital threats to the UK while maintaining a free and open internet |
| Support civil society organisations to thrive and work with government to tackle pressing social challenges (contributes to SDG 10) |
| Ensure that commercial gambling is socially responsible, including the rapidly developing online sector (contributes to SDG 3) |
| Enable the National Lottery and other lotteries to thrive by ensuring that the National Lottery and society lotteries continue to generate returns to good causes, while minimising risks of harm to players (contributes to SDG 3) |
| Promote the social contribution of the creative industries to reduce social harms to audiences that receive creative content and services (contributes to SDG 9) |
| Support a healthy, sustainable and world-leading UK media market by ensuring the ongoing sustainability of business models for high quality news media online and safeguarding the plurality of the media market |
| Deliver the Government’s response to the Cairncross Review, setting out our approach to addressing the review’s recommendations (contributes to SDG 9) |
| Ensure a strong, independent and distinctive public service broadcasting system. Maintain oversight of the BBC’s delivery of reforms agreed as part of the new Charter, including the role of Ofcom as the new regulator (contributes to SDG 9) |
Our performance
Satisfaction with Public Service Broadcasting (PSB)
| Satisfaction | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|
| Satisfied with PSB broadcasting | 78% | 75% |
| Very satisfied | 24% | 22% |
Source: Ofcom PSB Annual Report
Percentage of businesses that have sought information, advice or guidance on cyber security threats in the last year
| Year | % of businesses that sought information on cyber threats |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 58% |
| 2018 | 59% |
Percentage of businesses that are aware of Government’s cyber security initiatives and schemes
| Year | % aware of Government’s Cyber Aware campaign | % aware of Government’s 10 step guidance | % aware of Cyber Essentials scheme |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 21% | 13% | 8% |
| 2018 | 29% | 14% | 9% |
6. Brexit
Lead ministers
The Rt Hon Jeremy Wright MP, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Lead officials
Helen Judge, Director General, Performance and Strategy
Yasmin Brooks, Temporary Director General, Digital and Media
6.1 Help deliver a successful outcome to Brexit
How we will achieve this
| Support negotiations and domestic delivery of Brexit |
| Provide global leadership on digital trade (contributes to SDG 9) |
| Enable the data economy and protect data right, deliver domestic and international data protection policy (contributes to SDG 9) |
7. Agile & Efficient
Lead official
Helen Judge, Director General, Performance and Strategy
7.1 Ensure DCMS is fit for the future with the right skills, culture and connections to realise our vision and live our values as “One DCMS”
How we will achieve this
| Drive the combined contribution of our resilient and innovative DCMS Arms Length Bodies to deliver our objectives |
| Carry out research, evaluation and economic and statistical analysis and provide scientific advice to support delivery of the business objectives |
| Manage finances effectively and provide expert financial technical advice by delivering annual fiscal events, working closely with the strategy team and HR, while generating further improvements in the finance function, business partnering and shared services |
| Take a commercial approach to deliver value for money for the taxpayer. We will continue to deliver savings in our commercial relationships including through spending on common goods and services |
| Deliver Human Resources services and expertise by developing effective workforce planning to ensure we have the right people in the right place and directorates are supported by the data required to make decisions |
| Ensure the Departmental and Executive Boards, and the Audit and Risk Committee, have the right information at the right time to govern the department effectively |
| Support the delivery of DCMS objectives through effective business planning, performance monitoring and risk management |
| Provide effective news and communications functions, a strong project delivery profession, ministerial support, devolution capability and ensure DCMS receives high quality legal advice |
Our performance
People survey engagement score
| Year | Engagement score |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 70% |
| 2017 | 69% |
| 2016 | 69% |
Source: Civil Service People Survey / Release schedule: annually
Representation of female staff, ethnic minority staff and disabled staff (as % of known)
| Year | Female | Ethnic minority | Disabled |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 52.3% | 18.0% | 6.3% |
| 2017 | 53.8% | 17.4% | 7.4% |
| 2018 | 52.4% | 17.8% | 9.1% |
Source: ONS, Civil Service Statistics; Release schedule: annually
Greenhouse gas emissions
| Year | % reduction in emissions (against 2009/2010 baseline) |
|---|---|
| 2016/17 | 55% |
| 2017/18 | 60% |
Source: Cabinet Office Greening Government Commitments annual reports; Release schedule: annually
Percentage of spend that is allocated to small and medium enterprises
| Year | Percentage of total spend |
|---|---|
| 2016/17 | 43.9% |
| 2017/18 | [Awaiting data]% |
Source: Central government spend with SMEs data / Release schedule: annually
Our equality objectives
We have set objectives to help us advance equality. These are:
1. DCMS is committed to improving the diversity of its people and to creating an inclusive workplace
How we will achieve this
| Continue to be an inclusive employer, representing the diversity of modern Britain and providing equality for all, to bring insights and innovation to decision making |
| Ensure all HR policy development considers Public Sector Equality Duty impacts, benchmarking ourselves against best practice and maintaining our close ties with relevant external bodies |
| Consider diversity impacts when taking decisions on pay, and continue to use recruitment processes that are fair and open |
| Support and promote the work of DCMS Networks, alongside our senior team diversity champions |
2. DCMS also has a role in promoting diversity across its sectors
How we will achieve this
| Promote ‘This Girl Can’ campaign which has already helped 1.6 million females aged 14-40 start or re-start a sporting activity and now moves into its third phase targeting older women and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds |
| Support National Citizen Service aims to ensure that young people from diverse backgrounds are over-represented on the programme in support of its overall mission to support social cohesion |
| Understand more about where there are barriers to specific groups, to bring people together and create connections between individuals and communities, regardless of background or belief |
Public Value Framework
To support the delivery of our objectives, we will be improving our performance against the Public Value Framework in the following areas: implementing planning and monitoring progress, quality of data and forecasts, user and client experience and workforce capacity.
Our finances
Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL): £2.4 billion
Resource DEL (including depreciation): £1.7 billion
Capital DEL: £0.7 billion
Annually Managed Expenditure (AME): £3.7 billion
Control totals included in this document are in line with those presented in the Main Supply Estimates 2019/20 and are currently subject to Parliamentary approval. Any changes arising from the Parliamentary approval process will be reflected in due course.
Source: Main Supply Estimates 2019/20
Our people
As at 31 December 2018, DCMS had 1106 full-time equivalent employees. Source: ONS public sector employment data / Release schedule: quarterly