Government discussing Digital Britain portfolio today
As the dust begins to settle after the general election, the government is on Monday deciding who to put in charge of Digital Britain.
It is by no means certain that one person will hold the Digital Britain brief this time round, Whitehall sources tell us. The previous holder of that post, Stephen Timms, lost the portfolio when the Tories and Lib Dems coalition displaced Labour (Timms is currently recuperating in hospital after being stabbed in his constituency surgery) but he was in an odd position anyway, being both Digital Britain minister and a Treasury minister at the same time.
Digital Britain spans at least two major government departments, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). In the coalition, the former is helmed by Tory Jeremy Hunt, while the latter is run by Lib Dem Vince Cable.
As the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties have somewhat divergent views on aspects of the Digital Economy Act — the legislative manifestation of the Digital Britain drive — the choice of who picks up Timms' old brief could have significant repercussions.
Expect an announcement very soon.