Committee publication · Correspondence · 6 January 2026

Letter from Susannah Storey, Permanent Secretary, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, regarding public appointments, 16 December 2025

From: Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Inquiry: The work of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Summary

Susannah Storey, DCMS Permanent Secretary, responds to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee's questions about the failed Independent Football Regulator Chair appointment process. She outlines three material breaches of the Governance Code found by the Commissioner for Public Appointments and describes DCMS's internal review and remedial actions, including revised conflict-of-interest policies, strengthened announcement protocols, and clarified internal responsibilities.

Key findings

The Commissioner for Public Appointments found three material breaches of the Governance Code in the IFR Chair campaign and areas where best practice was not met.
DCMS initiated an internal review in May 2025 and has implemented process improvements including revised conflict-of-interest and political donation policies, refined announcement protocols to prevent non-disclosure of political activity, and clarified internal roles and responsibilities.
The omission of political activity disclosure for the government's preferred candidate was attributed to human error; announcement protocols have been strengthened to prevent recurrence.
DCMS manages over 420 public appointment roles across 42 public bodies and delivered 125 appointments in the reporting year; the department is developing a talent and outreach strategy focusing on diversity and regional representation.
Of ten significant DCMS appointments since 2018 subject to pre-appointment scrutiny, four were investigated by the Commissioner; three incurred no breaches, and one (BBC Chair) involved candidate non-disclosure for which DCMS bore no responsibility.

Tone

Procedural

Topics

public-appointmentsgovernanceregulatory-compliancesports-regulation

Key actors

Susannah Storey, Dame Caroline Dinenage, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Commissioner for Public Appointments, Cabinet Office, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Adam Heppinstall KC

Notable line

“As Permanent Secretary I very much regret that my department did not deliver the IFR campaign in full alignment with the requirements of the Governance Code …”

Key Quotes

“As Permanent Secretary I very much regret that my department did not deliver the IFR campaign in full alignment with the requirements of the Governance Code, and to the high standards I expect for all public appointments processes.”
— Susannah Storey · Opening statement acknowledging the IFR Chair appointment failure

“The omission of this disclosure in the case of the IFR Chair campaign was regrettably due to human error.”
— Susannah Storey · Explaining the failure to disclose political activity for the government's preferred candidate

“I recognise it is essential for your Committee - and the public - to have confidence in the appointments we make, and I take that responsibility very seriously.”
— Susannah Storey · Addressing the importance of public confidence in appointments

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Source · parliament.uk record ↗