'Descent into parody' Unions deride £4.4m scheme to send out free portraits of king
The Guardian|May 18, 2024
It is meant to remind Britons of the "example set by our ultimate public servant", but a £4.4m scheme to send out free portraits of King Charles for display in public buildings is not quite going to plan.
Robert Booth
'Descent into parody' Unions deride £4.4m scheme to send out free portraits of king

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.

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The Guardian

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The Guardian

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The Guardian

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The Guardian

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The Guardian

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The Guardian

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The Guardian

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