After first limiting availability of the oak-framed A3 photographs to courts, schools and police and fire services, the deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, said this week that any jobcentre, university, Church of England church or hospital could also have one.
The move has riled workers in the stretched public services, with university lecturers calling it "culture wars nonsense", and mosques accusing it of excluding other religions.
It is unclear if the decision to widen the scheme is a sign that take-up has been lower than anticipated. The Cabinet Office said the extension would not cost any more than the original budget.
It declined to say how many portraits had been requested in total, issuing only uptake figures for court buildings (100%), county and district-level local authorities (93%) and Home Office buildings (80%). It said it was "pleased" with the first phases of the scheme.
This story is from the May 18, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the May 18, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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