It was one of the last departments to settle and arts leaders genuinely had little idea of what to expect.
The situation was not helped by the apparent lateness of the Treasury settlement with the DCMS: it was one of the last departments to settle and arts leaders had no idea what to expect.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is one of the last departments to settle its cut ahead of the comprehensive spending review of 26 June, at which the chancellor, George Osborne, hopes to make cuts of £11.5bn.
The latest departments to settle with Mr Osborne and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander, in addition to the Home Office, are the Department for Rural Affairs, Department for Culture Media and Sport, Scotland, Wales and Law Offices.
"The remaining departments left to settle must deliver in the region of £18bn of savings.
Greg Hands, the chief secretary to the Treasury, is due to hold talks with ministers from those departments yet to settle this week.
In an interview with Radio 4's Westminster Hour, O'Donnell indicated that it he would not have set up any more departments because it takes time for any new departments in Whitehall to settle in.
Ministers who settle early with the Treasury have been told they can then sit on the star chamber set up to arbitrate on departments that refuse to settle until September or October.
The question of an officer shouldering some of the blame may arise again during subsequent civil suits, though police departments usually look to settle, which saves costly legal fees and ensures the actions of their officers aren't scrutinized further.
John Menadue, who was the head of Australia's immigration department when it helped to settle the great outflow of boat people leaving Vietnam and Cambodia after 1975, agrees with the Rudd-Yudhoyono approach; he says that "only regional burden-sharing can bring a lasting solution".
