Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

Summary

The secretary of state for culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strategy and policy across the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.[3] The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The office has been dubbed "Minister of Fun".[4]

United Kingdom
Secretary of State
for Culture, Media and Sport
Incumbent
Lisa Nandy
since 5 July 2024
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
StyleCulture Secretary
(informal)
The Right Honourable
(within the UK and Commonwealth)
TypeMinister of the Crown
StatusSecretary of State
Member of
Reports toThe Prime Minister
SeatWestminster
NominatorThe Prime Minister
AppointerThe Monarch
(on the advice of the Prime Minister)
Term lengthAt His Majesty's Pleasure
Formation
  • 11 April 1992:
    (as Secretary of State for National Heritage)
  • 7 February 2023:
    (as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport)
First holderDavid Mellor
(as Secretary of State for National Heritage)
Salary£159,038 per annum (2022)[1]
(including £86,584 MP salary)[2]
WebsiteDepartment for Culture, Media and Sport

Responsibilities

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The secretary has overall responsibility for strategy and policy across the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.[3] Responsibilities include:[3]

  • Arts and Culture
  • Broadcasting
  • Creative industries
  • Creative Industries Council
  • Cultural property, heritage and the historic environment
  • Cultural Renewal Taskforce
  • Culture, sports and arts sector recovery from COVID-19
  • Gambling and racing
  • Libraries
  • Media ownership and mergers
  • Museums and galleries
  • The National Lottery
  • Sport
  • Tourism

History

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The office was created in 1992 by Prime Minister John Major, as Secretary of State for National Heritage.[5] In his autobiography, Major says that, before the office was created, responsibility for cultural interests was shared among various departments, but important to none of them.[6] For instance, arts and libraries, although a separate department, had no minister in the Cabinet, sport was part of the Department for Education, film was part of the Department of Trade and Industry, broadcasting was part of the Home Office, tourism was part of the Department for Employment and heritage was part of the Department of the Environment.[6] He also wrote that the system tended to favour the interests of the articulate and well-connected London-based arts lobby.[6]

Thus, when he became Prime Minister, Major said that he saw that the only way to give culture and sport the higher profile that he thought that they deserved was to establish a new department, under a minister of Cabinet rank, to bring together all aspects of the arts, sport and heritage.[7]

List of secretaries of state

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Secretary of State for National Heritage (1992–1997)

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Secretary of State Term of office Party Prime Minister
  David Mellor
MP for Putney
11 April 1992 22 September 1992 Conservative John Major
  Peter Brooke
MP for Cities of London and Westminster
25 September 1992 20 July 1994 Conservative
  Stephen Dorrell
MP for Loughborough
20 July 1994 5 July 1995 Conservative
  Virginia Bottomley
MP for South West Surrey
5 July 1995 2 May 1997 Conservative
  Chris Smith
MP for Islington South and Finsbury
2 May 1997 22 July 1997 Labour Tony Blair

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1997–2010)

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Secretary of State Term of office Party Prime Minister
  Chris Smith
MP for Islington South and Finsbury
22 July 1997 8 June 2001 Labour Tony Blair
  Tessa Jowell
MP for Dulwich and West Norwood
8 June 2001 27 June 2007 Labour
  James Purnell
MP for Stalybridge and Hyde
28 June 2007 24 January 2008 Labour Gordon Brown
  Andy Burnham
MP for Leigh
24 January 2008 5 June 2009 Labour
  Ben Bradshaw
MP for Exeter
5 June 2009 11 May 2010 Labour

Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (2010 - 2012)

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Secretary of State Term of office Party Prime Minister
  Jeremy Hunt
MP for South West Surrey
12 May 2010 4 September 2012 Conservative David Cameron

Secretaries of State for Culture, Media and Sport (2012–2017)

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Secretary of State Term of office Party Prime Minister
  Maria Miller
MP for Basingstoke
4 September 2012 9 April 2014 Conservative David Cameron
  Sajid Javid
MP for Bromsgrove
9 April 2014 11 May 2015 Conservative
  John Whittingdale
MP for Maldon
11 May 2015 14 July 2016 Conservative
  Karen Bradley
MP for Staffordshire Moorlands
14 July 2016 3 July 2017 Conservative Theresa May
In 2017 the DCMS was renamed to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in acknowledgement of the increasing responsibility the department had gained for Digital affairs.[8] Karen Bradley continued as Secretary of State for the department.

Secretaries of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (2017–2023)

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Secretary of State Term of office Party Prime Minister
  Karen Bradley
MP for Staffordshire Moorlands
3 July 2017 8 January 2018 Conservative Theresa May
  Matt Hancock
MP for West Suffolk
8 January 2018 8 July 2018 Conservative
  Jeremy Wright
MP for Kenilworth and Southam
9 July 2018 24 July 2019 Conservative
  Nicky Morgan
MP for Loughborough
(until November 2019)
Life peer (since January 2020)
24 July 2019 13 February 2020 Conservative Boris Johnson
  Oliver Dowden
MP for Hertsmere
13 February 2020 15 September 2021 Conservative
  Nadine Dorries
MP for Mid Bedfordshire
15 September 2021 6 September 2022 Conservative
  Michelle Donelan
MP for Chippenham
6 September 2022 7 February 2023 Conservative Liz Truss
Rishi Sunak

Secretaries of State for Culture, Media and Sport (2023–present)

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Secretary of State Term of office Party Prime Minister
  Lucy Frazer
MP for South East Cambridgeshire
7 February 2023 5 July 2024 Conservative Rishi Sunak
  Lisa Nandy
MP for Wigan
5 July 2024 Incumbent Labour Keir Starmer

Timeline of secretaries of state

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Lisa NandyLucy FrazerMichelle DonelanNadine DorriesOliver DowdenNicky MorganJeremy WrightMatt HancockKaren BradleyJohn WittingdaleSajid JavidMaria MillerJeremy HuntBen BradshawAndy BurnhamJames PurnellTessa JowellChris Smith, Baron Smith of FinsburyVirginia BottomleyStephen DorrellPeter Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton MandevilleDavid Mellor

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Salaries of Members of His Majesty's Government – Financial Year 2022–23" (PDF). 15 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Pay and expenses for MPs". parliament.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  4. ^ "Interview: David Mellor - A more mellow fellow? Mellor's not for". The Independent. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  5. ^ The Transfer of Functions (National Heritage) Order 1992.
  6. ^ a b c Major, John (1999). John Major: The Autobiography. HarperCollins Publishers. p. 404. ISBN 0-06-019614-9. OCLC 42751073.
  7. ^ Major, John (1999). John Major: The Autobiography. HarperCollins Publishers. p. 405. ISBN 0-06-019614-9. OCLC 42751073.
  8. ^ "Change of name for DCMS". GOV.UK. Retrieved 11 November 2017.