20th Report - DCMS management of COVID-19 loans

Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee HC 364 2 April 2025
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 25 items (1 rec)
Source View on Parliament website
Government Response (AI assessment · 25 of 25 classified)
Accepted 12
Acknowledged 4
Deferred 6
Rejected 3
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twentieth report from Session 2024-25 · published 10 Jul 2025
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Recommendations & Conclusions

3 results
6 Conclusion Rejected
Consider alternative arrangements to fill accountability gap for rugby union loans.
Conclusion
Owing to a conflict of interest, the Department has allowed a gap to arise in accountability to Parliament for a significant amount of public money relating to the loans it made to rugby union. Since her appointment as Permanent Secretary … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the recommendation, stating that accountability is best achieved by delegating Accounting Officer decisions for Rugby Union to a Director General within DCMS. The Director General for Strategy and Major Events has been appointed as Additional Accounting Officer for Rugby Union matters, in line with HM Treasury guidance.
HM Treasury
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24 Conclusion Rejected
Department established arrangements to manage Accounting Officer's conflict of interest in rugby union matters.
Conclusion
Since her appointment as Permanent Secretary in June 2023, the Department’s Accounting Officer has had a declared conflict of interest regarding rugby union.63 The Department told us that it has put in place arrangements to handle this conflict whereby its … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the committee's recommendation and believes accountability is best achieved by having a Director General within the department as an Additional Accounting Officer, rather than a Permanent Secretary from another department.
HM Treasury
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25 Conclusion Rejected
Conflict of interest prevented direct questioning on Department's substantial rugby loans and financial exposure.
Conclusion
The conflict of interest meant that we could not question the Permanent Secretary directly about the £124 million that the Department had loaned to top–tier rugby union clubs and its subsequent management of these loans. Instead, we had to direct … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation and believes that accountability is best achieved by having a Director General within the department as an Additional Accounting Officer.
HM Treasury
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