Charity sector bodies have responded after Lucy Frazer was appointed the new culture secretary, making her the 13th to hold the position in as many years.
Yesterday, prime minister Rishi Sunak announced the creation of four new departments, including that the former Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will return to its former title and lose responsibility for the digital sector.
Sunak said a re-focused Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will recognise the importance of these industries to the economy and build on the UK’s position as a global leader in the creative arts.
Meanwhile, civil society minister Stuart Andrew has retained his parliamentary undersecretary role in DCMS and minister for equalities position, although the latter brief now sits in the newly-created Department for Business and Trade.
However, ministerial portfolios are still being decided at DCMS, so a different civil society minister could be announced.
‘Splitting up DCMS could prove to be a good thing for charities’ voice in government’
Frazer replaces Michelle Donelan, who had been culture secretary for five months and will be heading up the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
The new culture secretary has been MP for South East Cambridgeshire since 2015 and was previously the minister for levelling up.
Sarah Vibert, chief executive at NCVO, congratulated Frazer on her new position, adding: “We also need to urgently work together to ensure charities and voluntary organisations get the targeted support they need to continue helping people and communities through this cost-of-living crisis and beyond.
Meanwhile, Jay Kennedy, director of policy and research at DSC, said that the wider changes with DCMS “potentially provide an opportunity to focus more on civil society policy but this remains to be seen, as the structural changes will also likely involve administrative and staffing disruption”.
Dan Corry, NPC’s chief executive, said: “Splitting up DCMS could prove to be a good thing for charities’ voice in government. The old department had taken on so much that civil society risked being crowded out.
“The charities minister should really of course be in the Cabinet Office, as the true value of civil society is in how it can contribute across different policy areas.”
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