Addressee: Department for Culture, Media and Sport · Source location: Page 14, 23a
DCMS should: a As a priority, model its expected costs for managing the loan book over its lifetime. This should include both one-off and ongoing costs, including for DCMS, its loans agents and external providers, and may need to include a range of costs where there is less certainty in the longer term.
Response position:
Accepted
Delivery:
Implemented
· Q4 2025-26
· Confirmed by NAO
Addressee: Department for Culture, Media and Sport · Source location: Page 14, 23b
DCMS should: b Assess future scenarios which may arise across the loan book and plan for a clear series of interventions for responding to different scenarios where loss of public money may be a risk. This work should feed into its cost-modelling so it has better visibility of whether the financial returns outweigh the costs of managing the loans.
Response position:
Partially accepted
Delivery:
Implemented
· Q3 2025-26
· Confirmed by NAO
Addressee: Department for Culture, Media and Sport · Source location: Page 14, 23c
DCMS should: c Working with its loan agents, set out an overarching engagement strategy for borrowers and how it expects to adapt this over time, as the scale and nature of its portfolio changes. Within this it should use its knowledge about segmentation of risk and tailor its engagement with borrowers accordingly, so that engagement is dynamic and proportionate.
Response position:
Accepted
Delivery:
Implemented
· Q3 2025-26
· Confirmed by NAO
Addressee: Department for Culture, Media and Sport · Source location: Page 15, 23d
DCMS should: d Set out a strategy for the longer-term evaluation of its loan book. This assessment should include a clear articulation of the standards by which it assesses value for money of its management, including how it will know if the loans have met their objectives and how the loans have interacted with its wider support for the sectors.
Response position:
Partially accepted
Delivery:
Implemented
· Q3 2025-26
· Confirmed by NAO
Addressee: Department for Culture, Media and Sport · Source location: Page 15, 23e
DCMS should: e Develop its approach to gathering and learning lessons, working with its loan agents and external providers, so that it has a knowledge management plan to ensure relevant background and insight are preserved over the loan book?s lifetime. This should include ongoing capability that will equip it to fulfil its responsibilities, recognising this will change over time, and succession planning for specialist skills.
Response position:
Accepted
Delivery:
Implemented
· Q2 2025-26
· Confirmed by NAO