DMA welcomes Matt Hancock's promotion to Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

The Prime Minister had Westminster commentators glued to Twitter yesterday during her reshuffle of the cabinet. However, beyond the Westminster bubble the cabinet reshuffle was probably not very high on the agenda, although it was very important to the marketing industry.

Matt Hancock MP, was the Minister responsible for the digital economy working in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). He has now been promoted to Secretary of State at DCMS and will take on responsibility for leading the department and reporting to cabinet meetings.

During his time at DCMS he has demonstrated a good understanding of the marketing industry and the importance of data to the modern economy.

Speaking about Matt Hancock’s promotion, DMA Group CEO, Chris Combemale, said: “I’d like to congratulate Matt on his promotion to Secretary of State at DCMS and know that he will be an effective leader. His knowledge of data protection and privacy issues will be invaluable as he tackles the numerous challenges in his brief.

“He comes into the role at a pivotal time for the marketing industry. The UK’s data-driven creative industry is a global leader but in order to boost this success, free flow of data across borders must be a critical element of any trade deal with Europe or any other nation.”

Matt is already well versed in the issues at hand, having demonstrated a good understanding of the marketing industry and importance to the modern economy in his previous role, so will be able to hit the ground running. Last year, he helped to produce the Data Protection Bill, which will implement the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the UK and is currently progressing through Parliament.

Cabinet reshuffles can seem minor but civil servants often remark that when a new minister comes into post, they can bring with them a radically different style and policy focus. Sometimes a change in government is less pronounced than a change of Minister.

The DMA welcomes Matt’s promotion and looks forward to working with him to ensure that the UK’s creative industries continue to lead the world and thrive.