Sue Owen
Permanent Secretary of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
How did you tackle the biggest challenges facing your organisation in 2014?
Here at Culture, Media and Sport we’ve had our share of challenges this year. Not everyone realises our remit covers 15-20% of the economy, across a wide range of areas. Our creative industries are the UK’s fastest growing sector, helped along by the film and video games tax credits, and we’ve also literally dug holes in the ground to give 1.5m premises access to fibre broadband. This will have considerable social and personal impact as well as enabling growth. Commercial skills were important in effecting refurbishment and sale of the Olympic village, returning £500m to the Treasury. The GREAT Campaign helped ensure record tourism spending.
UK Sport supported athletes in a record Commonwealth games medals haul. We launched the First World War commemorations on 4 August, with services in Glasgow, St Symphorien and Westminster, alongside a continuing cultural programme including a new Imperial War Museum gallery, various ‘dazzleships’, and the poppies at the Tower. We have also been busy passing the Gambling Act, the Same Sex Marriage Act, launching a new model for English Heritage, and welcoming a new secretary of state.
My approach to all these challenges is to focus on the people working on them – not just inside DCMS, but across our 44 arm’s-length bodies. The People Survey was the first thing I read on arriving in October 2013. A year on, our engagement score has jumped nine percentage points to 60%. We have a new narrative: ‘To drive growth and enrich lives, making Britain a great place to live, visit and do business.’ But there’s more to do to make DCMS an even better place to work.
What are your department’s top priorities in the last months before the general election?
Our top priorities up to the election are of course to carry on delivering ministerial priorities; accelerate the broadband and mobile programme rollout; encourage people to take up superfast broadband; implement commitments on internet safety; deliver on Autumn Statement announcements; and, for equalities ministers, keep driving down the gender pay gap.
What’s your favourite Christmas treat? And what makes you say: ‘Bah, humbug!’?
My treat is being with my family, eating stilton & walnuts while watching an Everton Boxing Day victory. ‘Bah, humbug!’? Everton losing (again).