Committee publication · Correspondence · 10 June 2025
Joint letter from the Chairs of the Liaison Committee, Culture, Media & Sport Committee, and Science, Innovation & Technology Committee to the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation & Technology in relation to AI - Parliamentary Working Group, dated 10 June 2025.
Summary
Three House of Commons committee chairs jointly rebuke the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation & Technology over poor communication and unclear process regarding a proposed parliamentary working group on AI and copyright. They criticise the haphazard notification, lack of prior consultation, and ambiguous terms of reference, and urge a more consultative approach to future parliamentary engagement.
Key findings
- Invitations to participate in the working group were sent to generic committee inboxes on Friday evening with acceptance assumed by Saturday morning broadcast, leaving no time for proper consideration before Tuesday's debate.
- The working group's constitution, status, eligibility criteria, protocols, objectives and outputs remain undefined and unclear.
- Confusion exists between the government's proposed working group and the existing joint scrutiny work already undertaken by the Science, Innovation & Technology and Culture, Media & Sport Committees under the identical title 'AI and copyright'.
- No prior consultation occurred with parliamentary committees before the initiative's terms were settled, undermining proper member information and risking apparent duplication between government consultation and select committee oversight.
- The chairs acknowledge government pressure from legislative timetables but insist that clarity, courtesy and consultation are most critical precisely during final legislative stages.
Tone
CriticalTopics
Key actors
Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation & Technology, Meg Hillier MP, Chair of the Liaison Committee, Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Chair of Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Chi Onwurah MP, Chair of Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, Minister Bryant, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)
Notable line
“Communication on this was haphazard at best. The invitations to committees were sent to generic inboxes on Friday evening …”
Key Quotes
“Communication on this was haphazard at best. The invitations to committees were sent to generic inboxes on Friday evening …”
“The framing of the proposal is not at all clear on constitution and status, eligibility and protocols for participation, time commitment, objectives and potential outputs.”
“… avoiding even the appearance of confusion, blurring or duplication between support for consultation and accountability via the select committee structure.”
“… it is precisely in such circumstances that courtesy, clarity and a consultative approach is most important.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗