The secretary of state for digital, 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 Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which operates mainly in England. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The office has been dubbed "Minister of Fun".
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Responsibilities
The secretary has overall responsibility for strategy and policy across the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Its responsibilities in England, and some UK-wide, include:
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
The office was created in 1992 by Prime Minister John Major, as Secretary of State for National Heritage. 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. 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. He also wrote that the system tended to favour the interests of the articulate and well-connected London-based arts lobby.
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.