Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
UK government department, one of three that succeeded the abolished Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
DCMS took on digital transformation and online-harms policy on 20 July 2026, when DSIT was dissolved and its remit split three ways under Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Last refreshed: 26 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
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The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a UK Government department with long-standing responsibility for culture, media, sport, tourism and the creative industries.
On 20 July 2026 it also took on digital transformation and online harms policy, when the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology was dissolved as part of Prime Minister Andy Burnham's government restructuring; the rest of DSIT's functions moved to the newly created Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and to the Cabinet Office, which took on AI policy.
The change places online safety and digital transformation policy alongside DCMS's existing media regulation work, rather than within a dedicated technology department, a structural choice that drew criticism from UK tech industry figures who preferred DSIT's single-department model.
DCMS absorbs online-harms policy
DCMS picked up digital transformation and online-harms policy on 20 July 2026, when the government dissolved the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and split its brief three ways . The remainder of DSIT's functions went to the newly formed Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and to the Cabinet Office, which took charge of AI policy under Kanishka Narayan.
For a department whose core work is culture, media, sport and tourism, taking on online safety and digital-transformation responsibilities is a substantial widening of scope; those functions sat inside a dedicated technology department until this reorganisation. Some UK tech-industry figures have warned that scattering the brief across DCMS, the new business department and the Cabinet Office will make coordination harder than it was under one roof.